The Tamer - A Digimon Adventure
by leonardo1123581321
Summary: Six young kids go to camp for the summer, wind up living in a Digital Land. With devices that let them digivolve their partners to make them stronger, our six heroes set off on an adventure to find a way back to their world. But stories tell of another boy trapped in this world for a long time and they fear the same fate. Mysteries abound in this new world. Will they get home?
1. Welcome to the Digital World

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Note:** I'm back! With a vengeance! Yes, I'm going back to fan fiction writing as a way to help kill time. I'll be brief - I wanted to do this story for a while but didn't have the time to commit to it previously. The main reason is that the story will be long. Very long. As in I may have to break it up into multiple stories, and I may end up pushing the upper limits of what's allowed. However, with Digimon Tri literally around the corner, I thought there would be no better time to start the story. Let me just add one thing - the story has been planned from beginning to end, and the end is a long ways off - if we get that far. Without further ado, let's begin the first chapter of The Tamer.

 **Edit:** Just fixed some formatting issues with how the original chapter displayed on the website.

* * *

In a darkened apartment somewhere out in the world, a lone adult sits alone at a desk illuminated by a computer screen. The apartment is sparse, containing only the desk, a wooden chair, a bed, and a few old posters hanging off the walls. Light seeps in through the closed blinds. The adult watches the credits roll past in disapproval and scoffs, "It's been years. This ending still sucks."

Rocking back and forth in their chair, the lone adult closes their eyes and listens to the music overlaying the credits, quietly humming along to the tune. Eventually, the credits end, the song draws to a close, and the screen fades to black. After a few seconds of silence, the adult straightens himself out and stares at a set of posters on the wall opposite the apartment.

One belonged to the show whose credits were now over. The main characters of the show were lined up along the poster with bright-eyed smiles. The other poster belonged to another show, with the faces of twelve men all looking to the side. The adult stares blankly at the two posters in silence and while the gears turn in their head, an idea is born - an idea that invigorates them to work. They sit up immediately and open up a new page on the computer, the sound of the music replaced by the clicks and clacks of a keyboard.

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 1: Welcome to the Digital World**

The quiet night of Highton View Terrace ended with a loud roar followed by thunderous crash. Like a scene pulled from an old monster movie, two giant creatures battled each other - a giant orange dinosaur wearing a skull and a large parrot with arms. The two grappled each other again and traded blows before falling to the ground.

Seated in the middle of the chaos were two children, a little boy and a little girl. The boy had fiery brown hair that flared out from the top of his head and a pair of goggles around his neck. The girl was younger with short-cropped hair and a whistle that she held tight in her hands. Both children gaped in awe as the two monsters squared off against each other and roared out their attacks.

"Nova Blast!"

"Sonic Destroyer!"

The girl screamed out and the boy leapt over her to shield her. Over the deafening roar of their attacks, the boy could be heard saying, "Kari! I'll protect you!"

The girl continued to shriek out in terror, stopping only when she felt a pair of firm arms hold onto her. She glanced up and saw an unfamiliar man staring down at her. He was in a police uniform and stared down at her carefully, "Are you alright?"

She didn't respond, but allowed the man to pick her up. Glancing around, she saw the rising sun light up the street to show the damaged buildings, ruined sidewalk, and crushed cars. The policeman carried her over to an ambulance where a team of paramedics tended to her injuries. One of them tried to talk to her, asking her name, how old she was, and where her parents were.

As the light rose, a crowd began to appear around the ruin - seemingly unaware of the giant monsters battling moments before. Her parents emerged from that crowd and came running when the saw her. They hugged her and kissed her and never stopped saying how happy they were to see her. Her father took the moment to tell her never to go outside at night ever again.

When the moment died down, the father asked the officer where she was and was told about how they'd responded to reports of an explosion. The officer explained that she was found nearby unconscious. He asked if there was anyone else found and the officer pointed out that she was the only one there. Seeing the officer couldn't help, her mother asked the one question that had been on the tiny girl's mind.

"Kari, what happened to your brother? Where's Tai?"

* * *

Four years passed after the events of Highton View Terrace and it was dismissed as a terrorist attack. Life carried on as if it never happened, and it was soon forgotten. The sound of laughter filled the air of the summer camp as the kids scattered across the grounds at their various activities. Although it was the middle of summer, the air was cool and a light breeze made the sunny day a rare occasion. The kids and their camp counselors were going to take advantage of the day.

Their fun was cut short when the wind picked up and a light snowfall began. Everyone stopped to marvel at the snowflakes, then ran for shelter when it turned in to a storm. Everyone ran into the cabins, sheds, and tents, whatever they could use to protect themselves. Six of the kids fled into a nearby cabin atop a hill some distance away from the main campgrounds. As quickly as the snowfall began, it stopped and the kids peaked out of the cabin.

The first was a red haired girl with a blue cap on her head dressed in a yellow sleeveless shirt and pants. She glanced around at the snow and commented, "It's too cold to keep playing soccer, so how about sledding?"

A little boy poked his head out from behind and ran out immediately. His hair was a dusty blonde with bright blue eyes and he dressed in a green shirt, hat and shoes. The only thing on him that wasn't green was his shorts, which didn't seem to faze him despite how cold it got.

"Oh yeah! I'm gonna build a snowman!" he cheered, racing out into the snow. He was followed by a slightly older boy, also blonde with blue eyes. He was the little boy's older brother and he also wore a green sleeveless shirt and plain blue pants.

"TK! Hey! Put a jacket on! It's freezing!" the older brother shouted.

"Come on Matt! Build a snowman with me!" the little boy laughed, grabbing his older brother by the hand and pulling him along. Sora stepped outside with the two brothers, the fresh snow cracking with each step she took. Another boy emerged from behind her, shorter than the others with spiky red hair, an orange shirt, brown shorts, and purple shoes. His name is Koushiro, but everyone called him Izzy. Tucked under his arm was a laptop that he popped open and rested on one hand while typing away with the other.

"Bummer!" Koushiro began, "This snow is still messing with my satellite internet."

"I was worried I'd get a summer cold, but I didn't expect something like this," another boy said. He was older than the others and seemed the most out of place - wearing a collared shirt, sweater vest, and tan khaki shorts. His name was Joe, the oldest

"Oh wow! I should've packed my pink snow boots," the only other girl to take shelter commented. Her name was Mimi and wore an entirely pink attire - dress, shoes, and hat. The bright pink was contrasted only by her light orange hair which she said she'd dye pink someday.

"Hey guys! Check this out!" TK pointed excitedly up at the sky, "It's really pretty."

The sky was lit up by a bright array of colorful lights that waved back and forth across the sky. They all marveled at the unusual sight before them in awe.

"Those are the northern lights, sometimes called the aurora borealis. But there's now way they'd ever be this far south," Izzy commented.

"Tell that to all of this snow," Mimi glancing at the still fresh snow.

"Who cares? We should go back inside before we all get pneumonia," Joe's concern went unnoticed by anyone but Matt who dismissed it, "And miss this? Forget it. Hey, what's that?"

Matt had a finger pointed straight ahead at a glowing hole that had emerged in the sky. The lights twisted and bent around this impossible hole that had more depth than seemed possible. From within the hole, they could easily see seven black figures speeding towards them. It only took a second for them to realize that objects were not slowing down and Sora shouted, "Look out!"

The kids dove to the ground as all seven objects hit the ground with enough force to kick up the fresh snow that lightly dusted them. Sora perked her head up, shivering from the sudden cold and dusted herself off, "Is everyone alright?"

"We're still here," Joe raised a hand.

"That was scary," Mimi whimpered.

"What was that?" Matt asked while helping his kid brother up from the ground. TK then scrambled over to the small craters left in the snow by whatever had arrived. There were six in the snow, emitting a warm glow that invited them to take it in hand. TK was the first to take a hold of one even though Matt was quick to chastise him, "TK! Be careful! That could be dangerous!"

"It's all warm and fuzzy," TK giggled holding his in two hands. The other glowing objects started to rise out of the ground, guiding themselves to each of the other children who clasped onto them in midair. Izzy went to work examining his, "What is this? Perhaps some kind of digital apparatus?"

It was a white device no larger than the size of their palm, with a single screen on the front and a lone button on the side. Around the screen were some scribbles in a language that they couldn't read and could only guess at what it meant. Naturally, they all had different reactions to it.

"I wonder if it comes in colors? I'd definitely get mine in pink," Mimi added.

"I think it's cool!" was TK's impression.

"I bet its alien tech from another world," Matt thought.

"Don't be ridiculous, there are no such thing as aliens," Izzy argued, "I bet it belongs to some secret organization."

"You're both being ridiculous," Sora chastised them for their childish behavior.

"Hey guys, there are only six here," Joe pointed out to the others, his voice shaken with concern.

"Yeah, there are six of us," Matt stated matter of factly.

"But there were seven of these things coming out of there," Joe explained. This statement had the others scanning around for some sign of the other device. There were six impact craters around them and only six devices. So where was the seventh? They didn't have time to dwell on the question, as they noticed that they were suddenly ankle deep in water.

"Whoa, this snow melts fast!" Matt said in surprise, "Hang on to me TK!"

"I don't think this is snow melting," Joe thought aloud. As if the world was happy to confirm this, a large wave appeared beside them and came crashing over them. They didn't have time to run and the current of water pulled them along. They screamed and kicked and thrashed, looking for something, anything to latch onto. The current of the water was too strong for them, and they were soon dragged deep beneath the water into darkness.

Then darkness turned to light and the water gave way to a free fall. The kids all screamed as they plummeted downwards to what was certainly their doom. And then they were greeted again by darkness, the cold sweet embrace of unconsciousness.

* * *

"Sora," a soft voice echoed in Sora's mind, "Sora…are you awake Sora? Earth to Sora."

"Yeah, I'm okay," Sora propped her eyes open and found herself flat on her back. She could feel the device she found held tightly between her fingers. There was a heavy weight on her chest that seemed to shift around in way that made her uncomfortable. She glanced down and came face to face with a pink turnip with eyes and mouth staring back at her. The leaves protruding from the top were a light blue and swayed with the wind.

"Hey Sora! It's an honor to meet you," it said, "I am Yokomon."

"Eh…hi," she said softly, her voice fading away - still trying to process what she was looking at.

"I've been waiting so long to meet you that I began to think I never would," Yokomon continued, "After so long, I'm enchanted to finally meet my partner."

"I'm sorry, what's going on?" Sora started to straighten herself off, and Yokomon hopped off to the side, "And how did you know my name?"

"Oh, I can explain all that later. First, we should go find the others!" Yokomon answered happily.

"Oh that's right! Where is everybody?" Sora jumped up and took in her new surroundings - a large forest populated by all manner of trees and vegetation she had never seen before. Wherever she was, she was not in Japan anymore. There was silence, followed by a screaming that was growing ever closer. Sora ran toward the noise with Yokomon in tow and eventually found Izzy running away from a giant red bug creature.

The giant red insect moved with such speed and force that it was able to cut the trees down with no effort. Eventually, Izzy took cover by running into a tree. Rather than colliding with it in a crash, he vanished into it. The giant red insect failed to notice this and continued flying, still on the hunt and searching for Izzy. It continued on into the distance and out of sight, which Sora took to be the all clear. She placed the device in her pocket and tiptoed towards the tree, taking care to make sure the giant red bug was long gone. When she was certain they were gone, she called out, "Izzy? Are you in there? That things gone now."

"Sora?" Izzy's voice echoed from within the tree. In a strange sight that gave her pause, his head appeared out of the tree, "Hey, it's good to see your safe. Oh, you have one too."

"It's nice to meet you, I am Yokomon," Yokomon greeted.

"Hi, I'm Izzy and this is…Motimon, I think," Izzy introduced a little pink blob that leapt out of the tree. It had tiny little arms that appeared to flail while it talked, "Hello. I am Motimon!"

"Hi, I'm Sora and this is Yokomon."

At this, a little pink pig with sharp teeth and long floppy ears ran out between them. Its smile bared all of the large teeth in its mouth and it greeted them, "Hello! I am Tokomon! TK! Over here!"

"Coming!" TK's voice giggled excitedly as he ran to Tokomon's side. He coddled and played with the creature like they were best friends. Following right behind the two was Matt and tucked under his arm was another small creature that resembled a head with a horn on top.

"TK! Slow down," Matt said, "Oh, hey guys."

"You too Matt?" Izzy asked.

"Yeah, I'm here," Matt frowned.

"No, I meant under your arm," Izzy pointed at the small creature. It offered them a reassuring smile and introduced itself, "Hello, I am Tsunomon. I am quite pleased to meet you."

Their attention turned to more screams from within the forest, this time coming Joe who raced towards them with a panicked expression, "Guys! Guys! Help! This thing! This thing! I can't get it to stop chasing me!"

Following close behind him was a small floating brown seal with a tuft of orange hair. It latched onto Joe from behind and peaked over his head, "Hey! I am not a thing! My name is Bukamon!"

It chuckled as Joe screamed out in panic, "Why are we you guys just standing there! Don't you see this thing! And those things standing there next to you! Oh no! They're everywhere!"

"I think they're kind of cute," Mimi's voice alerted them to her presence. Mimi briskly walked up beside them with her hands behind her, "Hey guys. I see you have partners too. Meet mine, her name is Tanemon!"

A little green vegetable with legs peeked out from behind her and said, "Hi, it's nice to meet you friends of Mimi."

"Isn't she just adorable?" Mimi fawned over the little creature and took her into her arms. Sora looked at each of the little creatures that were now accompanying them. Mimi and TK were coddling theirs, Matt kept his tucked under his shoulder, Izzy was firing one question after another at his, and Joe continued to have a panic attack. This just left Sora's creature - Yokomon. Yokomon stared up at her with a large smile on her face, "It looks like we're all here."

"Yeah, so what is going on? You said you were going to explain what was going on. So what is? Where are we and what are you?" Sora asked curiously. Yokomon tilted her head to the side and quickly motioned to other creatures to join her, "Oh yes, we should tell you everything. First let us explain what we are."

The creatures gathered together and said in unison, "We are digimon! Digital Monsters!"

"Digital Monsters?" Matt repeated.

"For monsters, they sure are cuddly!" TK picked up Tokomon and hugged him close

"It's amazing how that raised more questions than it answered," Joe thought out loud, keeping his distance from the digimon assembled before them.

"Okay. Digimon. So that's a thing," Matt remained incredulous, the opposite of Izzy who grew excited at the spectacle, "Prodigious. Alien life. It's always been theorized but no one could ever prove it. Tell me, are digimon considered a single species with subgroups or are each of you a separate species?"

"I don't understand what any of that means," Bukamon answered with a confused but undisturbed grin.

"I think he's calling us aliens," Tsunomon mused, "But we don't have flying saucers or anything like that."

"Well, they are on another world. To them, we must be aliens," Tanemon thought aloud.

"But they're on our world, so they're the aliens!" Motimon concluded. They all agreed with that conclusion and nodded in agreement.

"So what was that part about being on your world?" Sora asked.

"This is the Digital World," Yokomon explained, "This world is our home."

"Digital. You mean data? So are we in a computer. Oh man, now I have to worry about getting a computer virus," Joe murmured.

"Wow! That's so amazing! I didn't know computers could have whole worlds in them," Mimi gaped in awe, picking up Tanemon, "And the digimon are so adorable."

"Computers don't have worlds in them," Izzy stated matter-of-factly, "And Joe's right, this just raises more questions."

They didn't have time to ask any of them. A loud roar echoed through the forest, and they soon found the giant red beetle from before hovering over them. It had four arms, all outstretched ready to grab ay any one of them. It charged straight down at them, its mouth wide open to roar and its mandibles wide to grab at anyone. They all took off in a run away from their massive pursuer.

"What is that thing?" Joe screamed.

"Who cares? Just run!" Mimi shrieked.

"Izzy, he's your friend! Maybe he just wants to talk!" Sora threw out there.

"He's not my friend! And I think he wants to eat us!" Izzy screamed back at her.

"That's Kuwagamon," Yokomon explained, hopping along side Sora at full speed, "He's a giant bug digimon who loves to fight and just doesn't know when to quit! He's vicious and ruthless, with teeth like knives that can cut through anything."

"Oh really, is that all!?" Matt asked sarcastically, "So how do we beat him?"

"Less talking and more running!" Bukamon shouted, floating along at a brisk pace without much trouble.

"No fair, you can fly!" TK pointed out to the floating digimon. They continued running and screaming through the forest. Matt glanced behind them and saw Kuwagamon closing the distance behind them.

"Duck!" he said to the others. They all dove to the ground and Kuwagamon passed right over them, cutting down any trees that happened to be in his path. Joe was the first one up, "Can I wake up now? I want this nightmare to be over!"

"That's it, we're gonna have to fight back!" Matt shouted out.

"Are you serious? How are we supposed to fight that, Matt?" Sora asked him, hoping Matt would realize just how stupid that idea was. Matt's answer was to pick up a stick from the ground, holding it up like a baseball bat. He waited until Kuwagamon was close and swung away with all his might. Kuwagamon grabbed the stick and pulled Matt along with it as it flew high into the air.

"Oh no! MATT!" TK chased after his older brother and the Kuwagamon.

"Matt! Don't let go!" Joe shouted out at the older brother, who was clinging onto the stick for dear life.

"LIKE I HAVE A CHOICE!" Matt screamed back at them. They chased after Kuwagamon until he was eventually out of sight, and had to follow the screams of Matt. Eventually they reached a cliff edge and found Kuwagamon flying around in circles, still holding the stick in its arms with Matt still flailing wildly underneath.

"MATT!" TK rushed out to his older brother.

"Wait TK! It's dangerous!" Tokomon chased after TK, ignoring the danger of the situation present to them. They all joined after TK, half to help Matt and half to protect their youngest member who just ran out into harm's way. Kuwagamon seemed content to ignore them, dangling Matt precariously as it circled around overhead before finally deciding to dive bomb directly at them. TK stopped in his tracks when he saw the giant bug coming right at him and stood there frozen in terror. Tokomon jumped in front of TK, "TK! I'll protect you!"

The other digimon jumped with Tokomon and spat bubbles out of their mouths at the target. They hit Kuwagamon and it flinched, more out of disgust than pain. It wiped the spit off itself and came to the ground with such force that it shook them all to their knees, standing between them in the forest. It was that they realized Kuwagamon baited them out here to give them nowhere to run. It howled at them, teeth and claws salivating at the opportunity before it. It released the stick and Matt landed with a thump on the ground, its roar sounding resembling laughter. Matt scrambled to his feet and rejoined the others, "I am never doing that again."

"Matt!" TK ran up to his older brother and wrapped both arms around his older brother, clinging to him with tears in eyes.

"Um, guys, that thing is getting closer," Joe pointed out to them.

"Don't worry! We'll protect you!" Tsunomon hopped between them and Kuwagamon. The other digimon joined him and they stood before the towering Kuwagamon, ready to put up whatever meager resistance they could. Kuwagamon's low growl resembled cackling as it stepped forward ready to attack. The little ones threw themselves forward and were knocked back with ease, stopping just short of their human friends. This time, the kids ran forward to protect their new friends. Kuwagamon took its time advancing, savoring every moment of their predicament and filling them with more dread.

"Yokomon! What were you thinking?" Sora asked the little creature, taking Yokomon in her arms and holding her.

"I wanted to protect you, Sora," it cooed back.

"How?"

"We can do it," Yokomon added, "We just need your strength."

"Our strength?"

"We can do it! You believe we can, right?"

"I-" Sora looked from little Yokomon to the giant Kuwagamon now stomping towards them. They had no chance. There was no way they could win. No way they could take on something like that and win. And live! She knew all this was true. Even so, she found herself letting Yokomon go. Yokomon straightened herself out and ran towards Kuwagamon. She glanced around at the others and saw them all doing the same thing, letting their digimon go. They charged at Kuwagamon. Kuwagamon roared at them, raising his arms to strike them down.

She knew they couldn't win. That they would get hurt or killed. She didn't want them to get hurt. She didn't want them to be killed. She wanted them to win. To be strong enough to fight back and defeat the giant red bug. The desire to see them win burst from deep down inside her and she cheered them on, "YOKOMON! YOU CAN DO IT!"

"GET HIM TSUNOMON!"

"TANEMON! I BELIEVE IN YOU!"

"GO! BUKAMON!"

"YEAH! GO TOKOMON!"

"MOTIMON!"

A loud whistling noise shrieked from her device in her pocket. She pulled it out of her pocket and was blinded by a bright flash of light. She couldn't see what was happening but she could clearly hear the voices of their digimon friends crying out.

"Yokomon! Digivolve to! Biyomon!"

"Tsunomon! Digivolve to! Gabumon!"

"Tanemon! Digivolve to! Palmon!"

"Bukamon! Digivolve to! Gomamon!"

"Tokomon! Digivolve to! Patamon!"

"Motimon! Digivolve to! Tentomon!"

When she finally regained her vision, she saw their little digimon friends were gone. In their place were several new digimon, larger creatures that were about half their height. Kuwagamon still towered over them, but the new digimon gave him pause before he continued marching towards them. The new digimon were unperturbed.

The pink bird took to the air and attacked first. It flapped its wings to create a blast of air, "Spiral Twister!"

The wind hit with enough force to knock Kuwagamon back. Even so he roared and yelled and continued charging. The little yellow lizard wearing a fur coat on its back took its turn, spitting out blue flames, "Blue Blaster!"

The flames spread throughout Kuwagamon and it started stepping away, perhaps realizing the situation it was in. It beat its wings and tried to flee. Here, the one resembling a walking cactus fired vines from its hands to wrap around its legs, "Poison Ivy!"

A maroon insect hovering beside them opened its shell to fire bolts of electricity, "Super Shocker!"

A little orange piglet with wings growing out its ears expanded in size and expelled it all in one burp, "Boom Bubble!"

The electricity and the blast of air made Kuwagamon flinch back and it roared again, clearly in pain. Finally, the small digimon resembling a seal raced under it and tackled one of Kuwagamon's legs. Kuwagamon lost his balance and fell to the ground with a slam. The digimon regrouped and the pink bird said, "Okay! All together!"

They charged the large bug one more time and hit him with all their might. The strength of their combined attacks sent Kuwagamon back into the forest, knocking over trees and kicking up dirt in his wake.

There was a moment's pause, they watched as Kuwagamon lay on the ground unmoving before finally celebrating. The kids cheered and the digimon roared their victory. The small digimon each ran to one of the kids and cried out tears of joy.

"We won! We won!"

"I knew you could do it! You were awesome Tokomon!" TK said. The little piglet flew into his arms and cried out, "Thanks for believing in us TK!"

"So…um, good work, Tsunomon," Matt mumbled to the little lizard that approached him. It adjusted the fur on its back and answered, "Actually, I'm Gabumon now."

"Oh…well, good work Gabumon," Matt corrected himself sheepishly.

"Thank you, and you're very welcome," Gabumon answered.

"So if he's Gabumon, are you still Tokomon?" TK asked.

"I'm called Patamon now," Patamon answered.

"So do you all have new names now?" Joe asked the digimon as they wondered back to their partners.

"Yeah!" The little white seal slid over to his side, "You can call me Gomamon!"

"And I'm Palmon!" the little cactus introduced itself to Mimi. Mimi squealed her approval and immediately started playing with the flower petals on Palmon's head, "You're new hair is just adorable. I'd love to know how you get it like this!"

"You may call me Tentomon," the maroon insect said to Izzy, who could only comment, "Prodigious, I especially like your ability to manipulate the flow of electrical current."

"What?" Tentomon titled his head to side. Sora looked to the pink bird who took its side beside her, "So what's your name now?"

"I am Biyomon," the bird introduced herself, bending her wing like an arm and bowing.

"Okay, hello Biyomon," Sora offered the little bird a smile, "That was amazing, the way you guys beat up Kuwagamon. But how did you guys change?"

"We did it with your strength," Biyomon explained.

"Our strength? We're not all that strong," Sora pointed out. Biyomon laughed and pointed at the device in her hand, "It was because of your digivice."

"Our digivices?" Joe looked at the small devices that appeared before them.

"So that's what they're called," Izzy examined his closely and mused, "So how does this device take our _strength_ and make you change? And will you regress back to your earlier forms?"

"I still don't understand a word of what he's asking," Gomamon mumbled.

"I think he wants to know how the digivices make us digivolve," Gabumon concluded.

"Oh, well that's easy! We have no idea," Gomamon answered.

"How can you have no idea how it works?" TK asked, to which Tentomon asked, "Do you know how your brain works?"

"No," TK answered sheepishly.

"The way digimon normally digivolve is through getting stronger, by fighting or whatever," Palmon explained, "But those digivices lend us strength from you to make us stronger, which lets us digivolve."

"That doesn't really explain anything," Sora replied bluntly.

"All this is making my head hurt," Mimi frowned, "Can we talk about it over lunch? I'm hungry."

"So how do we get back to camp? You said we were in the Digital World, so how do we get back to our world? I bet the camp councilors are worried and calling our parents about now," Matt said.

"We don't know," Patamon answered.

"A lot of help you guys are," Matt grumbled.

"Be nice Matt," TK said.

"If we're going to get out of here, then we'd better start looking for a way back," Izzy said.

"He's right," Sora said, "Plus Kuwagamon could wake up any minute now."

"Let's go this way!" Biyomon pointed out along the cliff edge. Izzy glanced down into the ravine below and saw the river beneath it, "That makes sense. If we follow the river below, we're bound to find a town or a village or someone who can help us find a way out of here."

"It sounds like as good a plan as any," Matt said, "Let's get going!"

The six children and their new digimon partners headed out along the cliff edge, following the river below in the hopes of finding their chance at getting back home to their own world. Unbeknownst to them, they were watched from afar by a lone solitary figure in black with great wings that spread out in large scale. This black figure fixed on them from above and followed them quietly.

"They're just children, what danger could they pose?" it asked to no one in particular. A moments silence passed before it spoke again, "There are only six - without the other two, they are no threat."

It continued to float in silence before answering, "The first is dead. It's been an eternity since he was last seen. If it wasn't battle, then it was old age. The other did not appear with them. They're helpless without them, those six may as well be ignored."

More silence continued before it finally spoke back, "If that is your command, then your servant Devimon shall dispose of the humans and their digimon."

After it finished, it changed it course away from the humans and towards a lone, solitary mountain in the distance. While flying, it reached out its arms and with one motion produced a flurry of black gears that scattered throughout the island. When the last of the gears disappeared, it cackled manically and disappeared into the horizon.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** That's all for this tonight, dear readers! My next update will be in one week on Friday, October 30th. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism and analysis into the next chapter of the story. This story will also be posted on my inkitt account which will be the main host site for the story.


	2. The Champion Level

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Note** : Update two! Delivered as promised. A big thanks to everyone who read the previous chapter and a thank you to those who left a review. Now for something I haven't done in a long time: respond to reviews.

 **kazikamikaze24:** I'm glad you enjoyed reading and hope you enjoy future installments.

 **Guest:** If he is, he'll have been there for a long time.

And so, I present Chapter 2 of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure.

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 2: The Champion Level**

The six children and their digimon friends walked for what about an hour. The cliff sloped downwards steadily until they were side by side with the river rushing beside them. As they walked, the kids took the time to get to know their new partners and their partners took the time to learn more about them. Izzy was particularly inquisitive and asked various questions, "So where do digimon come from? You said it stands for digital monster, but does that mean you're made entirely of data? If so, does this mean that world we are in is also made of data?"

"Yes, all digimon are," Tentomon answered, "As for where we came from? I can't answer that. I don't think anyone can."

"Is it because of the lack of a formal education system?"

"He's using those big space man words again," Gomamon commented, waddling along beside the others.

"Gomamon, stop it," Joe chastised his little partner.

"I can't help it if I don't understand a word he's saying," Gomamon frowned.

"I don't understand a word he's saying either," Mimi commented on their conversation, "But I'd like to know if you have hair stylists. I'd love to know who does your hair Palmon."

"It's all natural. I wake up like this," Palmon boasted, running her vine hand through her petals, "It looks good, doesn't it."

"I love it!" Mimi fawned over it.

"Yuck, girl stuff," TK stuck his tongue out.

"TK, what's girl stuff?" Patamon asked innocently.

"Girls sometimes talk about boring stuff like make up and dresses and dolls," TK offered his explanation, "It's where they get their cooties."

"Cooties? What are cooties?" Gabumon looked to the older brother. Matt glanced briefly at both Sora and Mimi - both with fire in their eyes. He decided to keep quiet and say nothing, narrowly avoiding the girls' ire. Sora pouted and crossed her arms, "Ugh, boys!"

"I don't understand humans sometimes," Biyomon observed of her partner.

"What makes you say that?"

"You two are friends but you're mad at him. Did he do something wrong?" Biyomon asked, cocking her head to the side.

"I'm not mad at him!" Sora defended herself.

"Then why do you look mad?"

"It's nothing," Sora's answer was flat. She hurried her pace to pull ahead of the rest of the group.

"Sora, where are you going?" Biyomon asked, running after her partner.

"To see if there's someone who can help us," Sora grumbled.

"We should really stick together!" Joe called after her, "We don't know what else could be out there. Sora! You're still walking away! Sora! SORA!"

"I don't think she's listening," Gomamon frowned, "We'd better catch up to her."

They chased after Sora and eventually found themselves exiting the forest and facing a large expanse of water. Sora and Biyomon stood there gaping in awe at the sight before them, "It's the ocean!"

"Warm sandy beaches? A beautiful ocean and a nice summer day? This trip was so worth it!" Mimi cheered, "Plus we can have fish for lunch!"

"We could if we had some fishing rods, or maybe some bait," Izzy shrugged.

"Don't worry! Leave the fish to me!" Gomamon smiled. He dove into the ocean and disappeared beneath its waves. The others waited in anticipation, watching the still surface of the water for any sign of Gomamon. After minutes of nothing, Mimi asked, "So is he going to-"

"Shh!" TK shushed her, "I want to see where this is going."

More silence.

"I don't think he's coming back out," Matt thought aloud

"You don't think he was eaten do you?" Gabumon considered.

"Who knows what could've been in that water?" Tentomon took flight and went over the ocean, staying just high enough above the water to avoid any surprises. But not high enough to avoid the large splash of water that came out at him, followed by the school of fish that popped out - salmon, tuna, carp, mahimahi, and more all erupted from the water. They landed on the sandy beach and flopped around helplessly, while Gomamon poked his head of the water, "And lunch is served!"

"Hey, this is a pretty good haul. I think I can cook something up with this," Matt said while inspecting the fish. He retrieved a knife from his pocket and started gutting the fish, carefully removing the scales and organs. The others looked at him surprised, "Matt, you can cook?"

"Well yeah. I live with my dad and he doesn't make the best food. If I wanted to eat something that wasn't gonna make me sick, I had to learn," Matt explained, "You guys go make a fire. And find some sticks that we can use to grill."

The others went out into the woods gathering logs, branches, sticks, and twigs to use for tinder. When they returned, Matt instructed them to dig a pit for the fire and to clean the smaller twigs to be used as skewers. It only took a little prep work, but soon they had a fire going and were waiting excitedly as Matt grilled the fish over the open fire. The aroma filling the air disgusted them at first, but it also reminded them that they hadn't eaten in a while. Their anticipation turned to excitement when Matt returned to present the first few skewered fish, "Food's ready with more on the way."

The kids and the digimon each grabbed a skewer and started eating, biting into the crunchy skin and savory meat. TK was quick to compliment his brother, "This is really good, Matt!"

Mimi said something between bites of food that could've been a compliment but was lost in the all the fish in her mouth. Joe told her to not to talk with her mouth full, a point that was completely lost on her when she tried to apologize. While they ate, Sora noticed her partner Biyomon gaping awestruck into the forest.

"What's wrong Biyomon?"

"I thought I saw something in the forest just now," Biyomon said.

"It wasn't Kuwagamon, was it?" Izzy stopped himself from taking another bite and scanned the tree line.

"No, it wasn't nearly as big," Biyomon frowned. The others kids were now silently watching the forest for some sign of trouble. Their worries changed to hope when they heard the obtrusive sounds of a phone ringing. A phone in the middle of nowhere on another world.

"You guys hear that too?" Joe asked no one in particular.

"Yeah!"

"It's coming from over there!" Matt pointed further down the beach. They all dropped their food and started off at a sprint towards the ringing. They eventually came across a line of phone booths set up on the beach. The closest phone booth rang the loudest and they all scrambled for it. Despite her demeanor, Mimi managed to outrun them all.p and answered the phone first, "Hello? Can you hear me? If you can, we need help!"

The others leaned in close to better hear the person on the other side. They could vaguely make out a voice distorted by static on the other side. The voice of what sounded like someone their age, perhaps younger. And the voice sobbed, "...is ta...ost on anot...ant to go home!...een days...iss my mo...ster! Plea...lp me! I don't want to die!"

The voice was cut out by static and the line went dead. The kids all paused to look at each other in silence. TK was visibly shaken by what he heard. The silence was eventually broken by Mimi, "That was creepy."

"No kidding," Joe added.

"Who was it?" Gomamon crept his way behind the kids.

"I don't know, but they sounded like they were in trouble," Sora frowned.

"So will we help them?" Biyomon asked.

"That call could've come from anywhere. Who knows where that kid is," Matt reasoned with them, "Izzy, do you think you could find out where it came from?"

"How would I do that?" Izzy looked at him accusingly.

"You know, you're the smart one," Mimi nudged him encouragingly.

"So that means I can trace a phone call?" Izzy's voice sounded offended.

"I've known Izzy for all of half a day, and I could've told you that was a dumb idea," Tentomon chimed in, trying to defend his partner. Izzy reached into his pocket and retrieved a phone card. He started dialing on the phone while saying, "Look, I'll just dial back."

He punched a few numbers into the phone and listened intently. They all huddled in carefully to listen, hearing it ring a few times before someone on the other end picked up. The voice on the other side spoke clearly, "At the tone, the time will be forty-five thousand miles per hour. Also, duck."

"What?" Biyomon said.

"Seriously duck," the voice on the phone repeated.

"What duck?" Joe scanned along the beach.

"Really! Duck! Now! Guys, duck!"

They realized the meaning and instantly dropped to the ground, seconds before a large rock crashed into the phone booth and landed into the forest behind them. The kids all stared in awe at the size of the rock that just barely missed them. Izzy looked at the phone still in his hand, the cord severed clean from the rest of the machine which was scattered around them. He dropped the phone on the sand, "At least that one was helpful."

"Where did that come from?" Gomamon asked. They could see their would be killer emerging from the ocean. A large pink reptile like digimon whose lower half disappeared into a large spiral shell that it carried on its back. It growled and hissed at them, gaping its cavernous mouth at them the entire time.

"Who's that digimon?" Mimi pointed at the new pink creature wading towards them across the ocean.

"That's Shellmon, he's a very territorial digimon with a big appetite. I bet he smelled the fish we were cooking earlier and didn't like that we were on his turf," Palmon explained.

"Is he friendlier than that bug? Kuwagamon?" Joe asked. A jet of high pressure water shot out of his mouth; it cut clean through sand and stone, leaving them cowering in awe. It growled again and Gomamon asked, "Define friendly."

"Do you think you guys can beat him?" TK asked their digimon partners.

"Well I can swim out there," Gomamon raised an arm to volunteer himself, "Tentomon, Biyomon, and Patamon can help out since they can fly."

"Right, and I can use my electricity to shock him!" Tentomon added excitedly. Gomamon mulled over Tentomon's addition and swiftly put his hand down, "I just changed my mind."

"Palmon, could you use for vines to pull Shellmon in?" Mimi asked the little cactus creature. Palmon checked how far Shellmon was and answered, "I don't think I can reach him."

"Well, that means we have just one option left," Matt crossed his arms definitively.

"Oh, what's that Matt?" Gabumon asked.

"Easy," Matt turned on the spot towards the forest, "RUN!"

Before Matt even finished, the others had hurried ahead of him and were running into the forest. Realizing they left him behind, he ran after them and soon caught up with them. Behind them came the sounds of stomping and crashing. Izzy took a second to look back and said, "He's gaining on us."

"Palmon! I thought you said he was territorial! Why is he chasing us when we're not on the beach anymore?" Biyomon half screamed, half asked while they fled from the giant creature.

"I don't know, maybe you should stop and ask," Palmon answered. They ran deeper into the forest with Shellmon still hot on their tail, knocking aside trees with ease and gaining on them slowly. Amidst all their running, they found themselves at a large clearing and a lake. A street car sat in the middle of the lake, lying on the surface of the water without sinking below. Seeing that street car on the water reminded Sora that they had a strategic advantage over the giant Shellmon behind them. They were now on dry land and would be able to use their numbers against him as long as he didn't get back into the water.

Sora stopped in her tracks, picked a rock off the ground and threw it at the giant creature. Shellmon roared when it bounced off his head and brought a giant hand down on top of Sora. Biyomon jumped in and grabbed Sora, both fell to the ground with a thud.

"Sora, what were you thinking?" Biyomon asked.

"We have the advantage on land," Sora said, "There are more of us. If we can stop him from getting into the water, we can beat him!"

"Okay, it's a plan," Biyomon started slowly, "But don't put yourself in danger like that!"

"Blue Blaster!" blue fire shot out of Gabumon's mouth and drew Shellmon's attention elsewhere.

"Hey guys! Can you talk after you're not under Shellmon?" Matt shouted at them. Biyomon and Sora realized that Shellmon was still hovering dangerously over them, his attention drawn away by the other digimon, but still one step away from crushing them. They rolled out from under him and ran behind the lumbering creature swinging away at their friends. TK hid behind Matt, who picked up another stick to use as a club. The others were scattered around with their respective partners taking turns striking Shellmon with their abilities.

Sora picked up another nearby rock and threw it at Shellmon. Shellmon turned its head away before the rock hit and bounce off a black disc embedded where his neck met the back of his head. Sora pointed the disc out to her partner, "Biyomon! What is that? A weak point?"

"Let me get a better look," Biyomon took the air and circled around the giant creature. Shellmon swiped and grabbed at her while she weaved through his arms and returned to Sora's side, "It looks like a gear stuck itself in his head."

"Is it supposed to be there?" Sora asked.

"No. It would explain why he's in such a bad mood," Biyomon proposed. Sora nodded her understanding and shouted this new information to the others, "Guys! There's a black gear on its head! Maybe if we destroy it, it'll stop attacking!"

"How do we do that?" TK asked.

"Maybe Matt can convince Kuwagamon to give him a lift," Joe joked, earning him an elbow in the chest from Matt.

"Well, he's a giant sea monster," Izzy pointed out to the others, "Tentomon!"

"Way ahead of you! Super Shocker!" Tentomon screamed at the top of his lungs, electricity firing from his back at Shellmon. Shellmon froze for a moment, paralyzed by the jolt of electricity. Palmon rushed forward and used her vines to drag Shellmon to the ground, exposing the gear on the back of its head. The six digimon ran in to destroy it and were thrown away by Shellmon before they could get close. Gomamon was thrown the furthest landing into the lake behind them. The splash caught Shellmon's attention and he charged straight for the body of water.

"GOMAMON!" Joe shouted, running for his partner with complete disregard for the rampaging giant also going the same direction.

"Joe! Look out!" Mimi screamed. Joe realized the towering Shellmon was stampeding towards him and froze in fear. This would have been his end, but Palmon used her vines to grab him and pulled him out of harm's way. Shellmon continued into the water and moved towards the center of the lake, using its depth to his advantage - and their one aquatic digimon was somewhere beneath the water with him.

Shellmon stopped short of the center of the lake and started backing away, still growling and roaring. The surface of the water rumbled and crashed, before a large blue serpent with a gold armored head emerged from the the water's depth. Hanging on for dear life on its head was Gomamon, who was swung back and forth with every motion the serpent made.

"Oh no, now there's another one!" TK wailed, "Patamon! What is that?"

"That's Seadramon!" Patamon explained, "A sea dragon! He's as mean as they come but he's just as dense. If we're careful, he won't even notice we're here. We can just let them fight it out and sneak away."

"What about Gomamon?" Sora asked. Gomamon screamed while he was shaken around by the giant sea dragon while it roared and flailed. Eventually, it swung its head with enough force to throw Gomamon back towards the rest of the group where he slid to a halt beside them. Shellmon and Seadramon squared off against each other. For a moment, it seemed they would begin to fight one another. When Seadramon turned on them and Shellmon followed after, they realized the two had no intention of fighting each other.

"I thought you said they would fight it out?" Mimi said.

"They should! Those two don't like each other anyway. Fighting us doesn't make sense!" Palmon explained. Another stream of high pressure water shot out at them, sending the kids scattering in all variety of directions.

"One was bad enough, how do we beat two?" Mimi asked no one particular.

"Well, we still have the weak point on Shellmon's head-" Izzy started to speak but was cut off by Gabumon, "Which we're not sure is a weak point,"

"And they're in the water," Izzy finished, "Tentomon!"

"I understand! Super Shocker!" More blasts of electricity shot out of Tentomon's back, striking the water around Seadramon and Shellmon. The two creatures convulsed in agony for a few seconds then leered at the kids with more anger than before.

"I think that just made them mad," Sora commented.

"The water probably dissipated the shock," Izzy posited.

"I think we should probably go back to running," Patamon suggested.

"Last time, that just led you to Seadramon. Do you really want to risk a third digimon showing up?"

"That's a good point Matt," Joe agreed.

"I didn't say it, I thought you did Izzy," Matt corrected. Izzy shook his head and the group found themselves asking a question. Who's voice did they hear?

"Look, on his tail!" Patamon pointed to the sea dragon, reminding them of the present danger. At the far end of his long serpentine body was a large red flipper that resembled a leaf. And jutting from the base where it met his body was another black disc. A gear.

"Well I guess now we know why they're not fighting each other," Sora said. The serpentine creature did something they didn't think it could do. It wrapped it large body around Shellmon and moved like a whip, cracking the air to send Shellmon flying behind them. The impact shook the ground around them, and the group found themselves caught between the two giant creatures. Seadramon ensured they wouldn't flee by closing in on the shoreline. He rested his long tail on one side of the shore and moved his head to the other side, effectively sealing them in.

Their digimon partners attacked with all their strength but only Tentomon's electrical attack was able to elicit any kind of reaction from them, and it seemed to annoy them more than hurt them. TK panicked and made a dash for the tail, thinking that facing it would be better than Seadramon's teeth. Matt saw this right away and chased after his little brother, "TK! Don't! It's not safe!"

Seadramon saw the little boy fleeing and went to grab him but instead caught the older brother. Once again, Matt was at the mercy of another large and powerful creature. It's cavernous mouth was wide open and bore razor sharp teeth dripping with saliva, ready to tear him apart. They all screamed out in terror, but none louder than little brother TK, "MATT!"

They were so distracted by his capture, that they failed to noticed Shellmon directly bring one of his massive arms down directly behind them with enough force to shake them all to the ground. Before they could get back up, Shellmon swiped at the ground, throwing the group and scattering them. The kids crawled on the ground, trying to pick themselves up while their digimon partners tried to stand in their defense.

Sora and Biyomon landed closest to Shellmon, which cackled as it came their way. It flicked Biyomon with the tiniest effort and she slammed into the ground.

"BIYOMON!" Sora watched her partner try to push herself back up. She had little time to worry. Shellmon had already grabbed Sora between its gigantic fingers and held her in its monstrous hand. It squeezed her so tight that she could barely scream, let alone breathe. She looked into the monster's eye and saw its intentions looking back at her. It was going to break her in its hand.

Whether it was bravery or stupidity that compelled them, neither Gabumon nor Biyomon could say. Gabumon ran at Seadramon to save Matt and Biyomon at Shellmon to protect Sora. Gabumon could feel it. All of Matt's fear, his anger, Matt's frustration. All of it for his little brother. Matt was afraid of what would happen to his little brother, he was angry that he couldn't be there for him, and he was frustrated that there was nothing he could do. And Sora's own fear and regret. Fear that she'd never see her family again. Regret that she hadn't been a better person.

All of this resonated within Gabumon and Biyomon, and they felt a warmth they'd never felt before. The digivices on Matt's belt and Sora's pocket glowed a bright light. A whistling noise filled the air.

"Gabumon! Digivolve to! Garurumon!"

"Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

Their group gaped in awe at the two new creatures before them. Biyomon transformed into a large fiery bird hovering just above them, while Gabumon transformed into large wolf with a tiger striped coat. Shellmon tracked Birdramon as she flew across the sky, circling around behind the giant monster. Sora could feel Shellmon's grip weakening and she felt herself slipping through his hand. Soon, she was falling to the ground screaming. Palmon saw her falling and used her vines to catch Sora before she slammed into the ground. She gently lowered Sora to the grass and she limped over to the digimon, "Thank you Palmon!"

The giant fire bird took this chance to tackle Shellmon, using its razor sharp claws to pierce and scratch away. With a flap of its wings, it threw its feathers at Shellmon with enough force to knock Shellmon aside, "Meteor Wing!"

Shellmon yelped and fell back into the forest, falling unconscious.

Meanwhile, the large wolf sank its sharp teeth into Seadramon. Seadramon roared and loosened its grip on Matt who fell into the water below. Gomamon was already in the water, dragging Matt to shore and away from the two giant monsters. Garurumon's teeth dug deep into Seadramon and is claws started ripping away at Seadramon's scales. Seadramon roared and and dove into the water, dragging Garurumon under with him. The water's surface rippled where they sank, then exploded when Garurumon resurfaced in the middle of the lake. Birdramon dove towards Garurumon and tried to pull him to shore, but was ensnared by Seadramon's tail.

Seadramon tried to drag Birdramon under but couldn't overpower the bird digimon's powerful wings. Eventually, Birdramon tired and it seemed Seadramon's strength would prevail until Garurumon turned on Seadramon and opened his mouth, "Howling Blaster!"

Cold, blue fire erupted from his mouth and hit Seadramon. It squealed in agony and released Birdramon so it could flee back beneath the water, only for Birdramon to grab him with her claws. With a few flaps, Birdramon picked up Seadramon and threw the serpent onto the sandy beach. Seadramon writhed on the ground, until Garurumon pounced upon him and shredded the gear on his tail. At the same time Birdramon returned to Shellmon and clawed off the gear on the back of its head. Both gears turned to dust and vanished.

Shellmon and Seadramon fell to the ground for a moment. They all breathed a sigh of relief as the two digimon were still. The kids tensed up when Shellmon began to stir. He glanced around him inapparent confusion before cracking a tired yawn and stomping away in the direction of the beach. Seadramon awoke next, made gasping noises, and hobbled his way back into the water before disappearing. They all stared at the sight before them before Sora commented, "I guess those black gears were weak points."

"Matt!" TK cried out while running to his older brother. Matt still lay where Gomanon dragged him to shore - unmoving. Gomamon was beside Matt, nudging him occasionally. Everyone had the same worried thought when they saw Matt and were quick to run to his side. TK shook his brother, "Matt! Wake up! Matt!"

Joe set TK aside and put an ear to Matt's chest, "His heart's still beating but I don't hear him breathing."

"Is there anything we can do?" Mimi peaked over Joe's shoulder.

"Yeah, I need some room. He needs some air to breathe," Joe motioned with his arm for them to gain some distance. Everyone including TK backed away while Joe put his hands together and started pressing into Matt's chest. After a few more presses, Joe put his ear against Matt's chest and started pressing into it again. It only took three pushes, but water shot out of Matt's mouth and he coughed and gagged.

"Matt!" TK went to go hug his brother but Joe held him back. Matt fell back to the ground, unconscious. Joe put his ear to Matt's chest one more time and explained, "His heart's still beating and he's breathing now. We'd better get some blankets and a fire going to warm him up."

"He'll be okay though, right?" TK asked.

"If we can keep him from getting hypothermia, he should be fine," Joe said.

It didn't take long for them to get a fire going, although it was already dark by the time they did. Joe produced a thermal blanket which he used to wrap around Matt, but Garurumon made a point of curling up beside Matt to share his own body heat. Birdramon regressed back to Biyomon and tended to the injured Sora. Joe proved an amazing medic for the group, having access to a number of supplies in his bag which he used to clean up their injuries.

As the night progressed, it was decided that they should all get some rest but that one should stay awake with their digimon to keep watch. In addition, they would swap out every hour so that everyone could get a full night's rest. Izzy and Tentomon agreed to take first watch while the others slept. TK and Patamon fell asleep beside the still unconscious Matt, while the others huddled up around the fire. Izzy pulled out his laptop and began working away on it while Tentomon looked on in fascination.

"What are you doing Izzy?" Tentomon asked.

"Making notes of all the strange things that happened today," Izzy explained, "Maybe there's a pattern we missed, or some kind of clue to everything that happened."

"Such as?" Tentomon asked.

"Seadramon and Shellmon both completely ignored us once the black gears were gone," Izzy started, "Which suggests that they were being manipulated by the gears. This raises the question: who made the black gears and why did it make those two attack us? Do the gears just naturally make digimon more aggressive or is this a result of manipulation? If it's the former, do digimon affected by black gears only attack those unaffected by black gears, or do they only attack us? If it's the latter, why are they attacking us?"

"Okay, those are good points," Tentomon affirmed, not entirely sure what his partner said.

"Then there's that strange phone call and that voice from before," Izzy answered, "Are they connected and who was that?"

"You mean the one that told us to duck and to not run away?" Tentomon asked.

"Right, who's voice was it and why were they so keen to help us?" Izzy asked, "And I'm surprised this hasn't come up yet but we saw seven of these digivices when we were in the Real World. So why are there only six of us and six you?"

"There's only ever been six of us."

"So what about the seventh?"

"So what do you think we should do?"

"For now. We just wait and observe. At this rate, we're bound to run into somebody who knows something," Izzy supposed. Tentomon nodded in agreement. Today had been an adventure for all of them. An adventure filled with danger, that left them with more questions than answers.

...

 **Author's Note:** That's all for tonight, dear readers! My next update will be in one week on Friday, November 6th. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism.


	3. Black Gears

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Update three on schedule! A big thanks to everyone who read the previous chapter and a thank you to those who left a review. Now for some quick replies:

 **Tomoe Mami:** Thanks for the review. As I said, this entire story has been planned from beginning to end. And it doesn't end with Adventure 02 or Tri. So look forward to a lot and please enjoy!

 **Guest:** No thank you.

Okay, on to the story!

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 3: Black Gears**

It took another day for Matt to wake up, the whole time TK stayed by his side. Eventually Garurumon regressed back to Gabumon, and so he chose to stay close to Matt to keep him warm. When Matt finally woke up, TK was the first one by his side and immediately hugged his brother tight. Mimi explained to him what happened, and Matt was awed by what Gabumon had done. They shared with him some berries and nuts they had found in the forest since none of them would have been able to prepare or cook anything else.

Once Matt had his fill, they decided to start moving again. Joe and Izzy were both anxious to find a way back to their world, as well as answers to why the two digimon from before attacked them. Their travel took them out of the forest and into a sandy desert that stretched far beyond into the horizon. While they walked, they chatted idly to distract themselves from the burning heat. However, Sora was the one to notice Izzy's silence, "Izzy, you've been quiet the whole time."

"I was just thinking," Izzy said.

"Care to share?"

"He's thinking about the black gears," Tentomon explained, "He's wondering why they were able to make both Shellmon and Seadramon act the way they did. He's also wondering where they came from and what they do."

"That's a lot to think about," Gomamon commented, adjusting his pace to stay along side them, "Sorry, I was curious."

"And then there was that phone call," Izzy added, "Who called us and what was with that warning? Also there was that voice telling us not to run. Someone's helping us. I'm not ungrateful, but why? And why doesn't whoever's helping us just show themselves?"

Sora hadn't given it much thought but she was curious now that it was in her attention. She snapped out of it when Joe pointed ahead of them and said, "Uh, guys, do you see what I see?"

Ahead of the group was a swarm of small pink radishes with blues leaves on their heads. A group made entirely of Yokomon, all running towards them and screaming in terror.

"Friends of yours Biyomon?" Sora asked.

"Not really, but all Yokomon are friendly! I'm sure they'd love to help us," Biyomon said. Biyomon went out to greet the Yokomon but was met with cries for help, "Please you must help us! Meramon is attacking! He's destroying everything and he won't stop."

"Not another one," Joe slumped over. They looked in the direction the Yokomon came from and spotted a large figure with a body of fire. It marched towards them slowly but was able to keep a steady pace with the fleeing Yokomon with his larger stride. Izzy was the first one to point out the obvious, "Oh great. It's body is made of fire and we're in the middle of the desert."

"Does anyone have any water?" Palmon asked.

"We did in our village," one of the Yokomon answered, "But the water dried up completely. We followed the river up the mountain and found Meramon evaporating all of it. Then he attacked us. He chased us all the way back to our village, then all the way out here."

"So he's so hot that water evaporates around him," Sora thought aloud, "What about the ocean?"

"It's a start and I could go for a swim. Where is the ocean?" Gomamon looked to the Yokomon for answers. The Yokomon looked off into the distance, "About an hour in that direction."

"I don't think we can run that far for that long," TK frowned. In the direction the Yokomon pointed, they could see the vague image of another figure coming towards them. As it drew closer, they realized it was a large yellow teddy bear. It wasn't the most menacing of the digimon they'd seen. Everything about it was comforting and reassuring. When it was even closer, any glee they felt disappeared as they realized it had a black gear lodged into the top of its head.

"Another black gear," Gabumon shouted out to the others.

"I guess we can assume there's one in Meramon too," Matt folded his arms, "Gabumon?"

"I'm already on it!"

"Biyomon?" Sora looked to her little pink partner.

"Ready to go!" Biyomon spread her wings. Both Matt and Sora's digivices whistled to life and illuminated a bright light. The same light enveloped Biyomon and Gabumon, changing the two into Birdramon and Garurumon. Birdramon took to the air and flew for Meramon while Garurumon raced at the large bear. The rest of the group ushered the Yokomon back for safety so that their partners could fight without worry for their safety. The four digimon struggled against each other briefly. Birdramon flew around Meramon and occasionally swiped at him while Garurumon and the bear wrestled with each other. The bear gained the upper hand when it picked up Garurumon and threw him clean at Birdramon. Garurumon caught himself and was able to land on all fours beside Meramon.

"What's with that bear?" Matt gaped in awe.

"That's Monzaemon, he's the caretaker of Toy Town. He's normally so nice, I don't understand why he's acting like this," one of the Yokomon answered.

"That would be the Black Gear on his back," Izzy said, "It makes digimon violent."

As he said that Meramon was kicked to the ground beside them and Birdramon pounced upon him. Birdramon spread her wings wide and prepared to attack with her meteor wing. Before she could finish, another digimon tackled her into the ground. The new attacker was a white horse with black feathery wings and a red helmet on his head. Atop the red helmet was a single horn pointed upwards. It dug one hoof into the ground and neighed at Birdramon before charging. With its back turned to them, they could plainly see the black gear sticking out just below his neck.

"Just what we need, a black gear on one that can fly," Joe groaned.

"It looks like a unicorn," Mimi said with some inkling of glee.

"What's a unicorn?" Palmon cocked her head.

"I think she means Unimon," Tentomon guessed, "He's a wise old digimon that prefers the isolation of his mountain."

Meramon was back on his feet and turning on the group while the other digimon continued fighting. Tentomon, Patamon, and Gomamon marched against humanoid flame and fought to defend their friends.

"Boom Bubble!"

"Blue Blaster!"

"Super Shocker!"

All of the attacks were swallowed by the fire on Meramon's body and he continued towards them unaffected. He raised both his arms against their group. The flames met between his hands and formed into a ball that propelled itself towards them, "Fireball!"

They dove out of its path and watched it explode on impact behind them. The Yokomon shrieked their horror and started panicking loudly, unsure if they should run away or find someplace to hide. But there was nowhere they could run with Meramon so close and nowhere for them to hide in the desert. Meramon stooped over Joe and point his palm at him, the fire already crackling into a ball shape.

"I don't suppose that we can talk about this?" Joe pleaded. The ball of fire grew larger.

"I guess not," Joe whimpered, sweating from the heat of the flame. Joe was normally the kind of person who would give up and taken whatever came his way. But this time, he didn't want to give up. He didn't want to die. Without even thinking, he grabbed some sand in his hand and threw it up at Meramon's face. Meramon reeled back and screamed, and Joe took this opportunity to run away.

Gomamon was beside Joe instantly and asked, "So what now Joe? Do you have a plan?"

"Not really," Joe mumbled, "But anything is better than dying."

"That sounds like a plan."

Like Matt and Sora before him, his digivice started to glow and whistled loudly. And like Biyomon and Garurumon, Gomamon was enveloped by a bright light.

"Gomamon! Digivolve to! Ikakumon!"

When the light cleared, they could see a large walrus covered in shaggy white fur with a black horn atop its head. Ikakumon's large frame had him towering over Meramon, but Meramon was unintimidated. Ikakumon shifted his attention to Unimon and Birdramon flying overhead. The horn on Ikakumon's head launched into the air and disintegrated to reveal a missile. In one loud voice, Ikakumon shouted, "Harpoon Torpedo!"

The missile flew threw the air and followed Unimon. Unimon broke away from his pursuit of Birdramon and fled the missile. Unimon ducked and weaved through the air unable to track the missile. The missile was never able to catch Unimon and it exploded in the air. Unimon was far enough away to avoid the heat, but the force was still enough to send him careening down to the ground below. Unimon crashed beside Garurumon, kicking up a blast of sand. They cheered and whooped excitedly. With three of their partners digivolved, the fight was now Ikakumon then tackled Meramon. Meramon fell backwards under the weight and Ikakumon stomped his legs atop him.

A blast of fire from Meramon was enough to throw Ikakumon off. Garurumon ignored the threat in front of Monzaemon and turned to help Ikakumon. Monzaemon used this chance to grab Garurumon and crush between his arms.

"Garurumon!" Matt called out to his partner. Birdramon went to assist and when Monzaemon saw, he threw Garurumon at her. Monzaemon stretched his arms out and screamed, "Hearts attack!"

Blue heart shaped bubbles emerged from his chest and entrapped Joe, Matt, TK, Patamon, Sora and Mimi. Izzy, Tentomon, and Palmon ran with the Yokomon away from the swarm of bubbles. While they fled, they heard their friends start laughing from behind them.

"Why are they laughing? What's so funny?" Izzy wondered.

"It's Monzaemon's bubbles! They trap you and then make you so happy that you don't want to escape," Palmon explained.

"If they keep laughing like that, they'll die!" Izzy worried out loud.

"Don't be silly. You can't die from laughter," Tentomon reasoned. They heard Mimi behind them gasping for breath between giggling fits.

Both Izzy and Tentomon stopped where they were. Izzy reexamined the situation around them - Unimon was starting to get back up, both Garurumon and Birdramon were somehow struggling against Monzaemon, and Ikakumon's battle against Meramon was trapped in a deadlock. It was plain to see that these three digimon were stronger and better fighters. They were matched by numbers, but skill gave them the advantage.

"We have to help them. We can't just let them die!" Izzy said.

"I won't let Mimi get hurt!" Palmon shot more vines from her arms and smashed at the remaining incoming bubbles. She retracted the vines and ran in to save Mimi. For a moment, it looked like Mimi reached out to Palmon from within the bubble. Her digivice activated like all the others and Palmon disappeared in a flash of light.

"Palmon! Digivolve to! Togemon!"

Both Garurumon and Birdramon were struggling to hold Monzaemon in place. Togemon charged straight in at the large bear and landed one of her gloves on the bear's face. The bear took the hit without flinching and knocked Togemon straight into Meramon. Togemon was grazed by the heat of his body and immediately put distance between the two of them. She then spun in place to launch a volley of needles in all directions, "Needle Spray!"

Izzy and Tentomon dove to the ground. The needles scattered all over the place, indiscriminately hitting everything in their path. Meramon was closest and took most of the attack - pushing him back. The remaining needles destroyed the heart bubbles around them, freeing the others. Izzy and Tentomon started pulling Joe and Sora to safety. Matt was quick to grab both TK and Patamon before limping away from the towering digimon who continued their fight.

"I don't think I want to laugh like that for a while," Sora said between gasps for breath. With four of their digivolved partners, they now had the numbers advantage while their attackers had the skill advantage. The fight could readily go either way, which meant the important thing was to destroy the black gears on them. Izzy mumbled to Tentomon, "Destroy the black gears, and we can end the fight here."

"Izzy, what are you thinking?" Tentomon asked. The duo watched the digimon pair off against each other before continuing their fight - Unimon against Birdramon, Togemon and Garurumon against Monzaemon, and Ikakumon against Meramon. He scratched his chin and asked, "Those digimon are distracted by the others. How close do you have to be to hit the mark on those black gears?"

"I don't like where this is going."

"Just thinking out loud. So, how close?"

"Closer than I want to be," Tentomon thought aloud.

"I was just thinking that your electrical attack is the fastest attack we have," Izzy thought, "You'd just have to fly close, hit the gear, and fly away."

"It's worth a shot," Tentomon's wings hummed when he took to the air. He flew in slow and steady, sticking to the sidelines to avoid getting caught in the middle. Birdramon and Unimon grabbed on to each other, and the ensuing struggle had them falling to the ground. While they were busy scuffling against each other on the ground, Tentomon used his electrical attack to fry the black gear. Unimon fell unconscious and collapsed to the ground. Birdramon flapped away to help Garurumon and Togemon. With Monzaemon now overwhelmed, Tentomon was able to fire a single bolt of electricity at the gear on its back. It fell apart into a spray of particles, leaving only Meramon alone to fight. Confident that they could finish the fight on their own, Tentomon fell back to let the others finish Meramon off.

Things were going their way and with Meramon surrounded, they were certain they could win. Any confidence they had quickly disappeared when they heard a loud buzzing noise coming from all around them. In the distance, they could see a gray and black cloud growing larger and coming closer. As it drew closer, they saw a swarm of black gears racing towards them.

"Not more of them," Sora frowned.

"This is bad," Matt added.

"Shit," TK said. They all stopped and looked at the youngest member of their group - half in shock, half in awe that he even knew that word.

"TK!" Matt berated his brother.

"What?"

"TK, what's a shit?" Patamon asked.

"It's when-" TK started. Matt placed a hand over his mouth and shouted, "Okay, that's enough - everyone start running!"

"But what's a-"

"I said run!" Matt screamed. Before the group could even start, the swarmed of black gears swirled around them - trapping them within a wall of spinning gears that cut off their escape. There was a small opening from within the black gears and their first thought was to run through to safety. A burst of fire ruined that idea as they realized the opening was to let Meramon in, not them out. Their digimon partners tried to come through to their aid, but were halted by the black gears closing the only entrance through the vortex. The heat from Meramon's body was amplified within this tight space; it made the air tight and heavy.

"Any other plans?"

"We could try asking him really nicely not to kill us," Mimi proposed.

"I don't think he'll let us talk," Sora frowned.

Izzy looked around for something, anything they could use. There was no where to run. No where to hide. There was an opening at the top of the gears. The closest thing they would have to an exit, but none of them could fly. Meramon singled him out and pointed his hand at him.

"Am I the only one to notice that you have a flair for dramatically trying to kill us? I'm not saying you should be faster, but it does seem like you use the same attack too much," Izzy spoke at a hundred words a minute to buy himself time. Meramon answered by bringing his fist crashing down on top of him. He would've died if Tentomon didn't tackle him out of harm's way. When he did, the digivice on his belt reacted to Tentomon's bravery and lit up. Within moments, Tentomon was swallowed by the light - and at this distance, they could see Meramon shielding his eyes against the light. The black gears closest to them turned to dust from the intensity of the light, thinning out the vortex.

"Tentomon! Digivolve to! Kabuterimon!"

Tentomon took the form of a large blue insect similar to Kuwagamon but without the razor sharp mandibles. The shell over his head was gray with a large protruding from the top and more closely resembled a helmet. Kabuterimon's large wings beat with enough force to knock the gears away, and he was able to fly high into the air. The air crackled around him and sparks of electricity flowed from the ground to his chest. With a single convulsion, Kabuterimon shot a bolt of electricity at Meramon, "Electroshocker!"

"Fireball!" Meramon shouted. Their two attacks crashed into each other, and exploded with enough force to shatter the vortex of gears. In that moment of confusion, Kabuterimon grabbed each of the kids with large hands and few upwards out of the swarm of black gears. He landed beside the digimon on the other side of the vortex and set the children down.

"Is everyone alright?" Garurumon asked.

"We are thanks to Kabuterimon," Matt patted the large blue insect. The black gears dispersed in all manner of directions, leaving only Meramon - alone to fight.

"Meramon! It's over! Stop fighting us!" Sora called out to fire digimon. Meramon growled and the fires in his body crackled. He stretched out his arms again and hurled more fireballs at them. Their digimon formed a defensive line in front of them and took most of the hits - before exchanging a volley of their own attacks. The attacks hit their mark and Meramon fell backwards onto the sand. When he hit the ground, the black gear forcefully ejected out of his body and turned to dust.

"Yeah! We did it!"

"That was awesome!"

"You guys were amazing!"

They all cheered and whooped in joy. Their digimon partners were swallowed by light and regressed back to their normal forms. The kids ran back to their digimon partners and squeezed them tight in a hug. The Yokomon surrounded them and offered their thanks for stopping Meramon's rampage. Around them, they could see their would be attackers coming to , dazed and confused. Unimon shook himself and flew away while Monzaemon wandered away back in the direction of the forest.

"It looks like they're back to their senses," Tentomon commented. A few of the Yokomon approached Meramon and asked if he was okay. Meramon on the other hand was confused and had no idea how he came to be in the desert.

"I guess we should apologize for that headache we gave him," Mimi considered out loud but Joe was the one who commented, "What about the aches he gave us?"

"Come on Joe, it wasn't his fault," Mimi smiled, already walking to the now harmless digimon. The others exchanged worried glances and joined her but with an air of caution. Meramon was surprised by her approach, "Who are you? Humans? In the Digital World?"

"Hi! I'm Mimi!" Mimi extended a hand to the flame creature, "Sorry about the headache. You had a black gear in you and it made you attack us."

"Oh…" Meramon shook her hand and stumbled over his next set of words, "I'm sorry for any harm I caused."

There was a tense silence between the two who were unsure of what to say next.

"Tell me. You are humans, correct?" Meramon asked.

"As human as they come," Izzy asked, "Do you remember anything before the black gear?"

"No, I don't," Meramon mused, "I woke up, ate breakfast, and then there was a whirring noise. Everything is hazy after that."

"What are you thinking Izzy?" Sora asked.

"I was hoping he might give us a clue about where the black gears came from," Izzy thought.

"No, I'm sorry I don't remember," Meramon apologized.

"Well, you wouldn't happen to know of a way back to our world would you?" Izzy asked again.

"Oh yeah! Do you know one?" Joe asked, "We've been gone for a few days and our parents must be getting worried."

"No, I don't. Again, I'm sorry," Meramon apologized. The others groaned their disappointment in one loud sigh.

"That's a bummer," Mimi put her hands to her hips.

"Well, let us thank you for helping us! Come back with us to our village and we'll prepare a dinner for you!" The Yokomon offered. This offer was enough to bring up the mood and the group traveled to the Yokomon's village for food and refreshment. Several of the buildings did have burns, but nothing that couldn't be prepared. While their water source was virtually diminished, they did have some stored away for safe keeping and were more than willing to share what they had. The Yokomon prepared a surprisingly good meal for them, and they readily helped themselves to their first home cooked meal in a long time. While they ate, everyone took the time to get to know each other properly - chatting idly with the Yokomon who so graciously hosted them. Izzy continued to work on his laptop to the side - taking more notes of the day's encounter. His laptop clicked and clacked with the press of every key, until Sora and Biyomon joined him with a plate of cooked eggs and a glass of water.

"We brought you something to eat," Sora said, setting it down to the side for him.

"Yeah, thanks," Izzy replied without looking up from his computer, typing away without any regard for their generosity.

"So what are you doing?" she asked curiously, "More stuff about the black gears?"

"Logging more notes about everything from today, in the hopes of discerning a pattern," Izzy explained, "Provided what happened, I believe it is safe to assume that the black gears are not a natural phenomenon and do present a serious danger to us. Everything else such as where they come from and who is making them remain inconclusive."

"What?" Sora asked.

"The black gears are bad, and we haven't learned anything new," Izzy shortened his explanation,

"Oh."

Izzy stopped typing and sighed, "It's all fascinating. And just as frustrating. I have a few ideas about what's going on, but the lack of information makes it hard to tell which is correct. Granted the black gears are not natural, its safe to assume that someone or something is controlling them - to what end can't be good. Possible purposes include weaponization, mind control, aggression stimulation, perhaps even experimentation into manipulation of the fabric of the world."

"You really like to use big words. Stop it," Biyomon slapped him in the back of the head, "It doesn't make you sound smart. It makes you sound obnoxious."

"Sorry, I was just thinking out loud," Izzy massaged the back of his head.

"Excuse me, it's Izzy right?" Meramon appeared beside them. Izzy nodded, "Yes. And these are Sora and Biyomon."

The two girls waved at Meramon, who returned it with a nod, "I wanted to ask, how many were in your group when you came to this world?"

"There were six of us," Izzy answered, "Well, twelve with our partners. But there were six of us who were pulled into this world. Why?"

"This may seem a bit odd to ask but did any of you know a boy with goggles?" Meramon asked. Sora and Izzy swapped glances before answering, "No."

"I see," Meramon took a seat beside them. They inched away when they felt the heat of his flames.

"Sorry, I forget how hot my flames are," his apology sounded misplaced - he was apologizing to them, but it didn't sound like they were the ones he wanted to apologize to.

"Is something wrong?" Sora asked quietly.

"Your appearance in this world reminded me of an old friend, a human like yourself. I haven't seen him in a long time. He's probably long gone now," Meramon mused to himself quietly.

"Another human?" Sora asked, her voice barely restraining her curiosity, "How long ago? What happened? Do you know where he is?"

Meramon's explanation sounded like he was remembering, "He was looking for a way home, like yourselves. But it's been a long time since I last saw him - so he's either found that way home…or he's dead. But on the off chance you find him, and he's alive, please give him my regards."

"Okay, we will," Biyomon promised, "What does he look like. Or did he look like?"

"He's probably different. But when I last saw him he was about the size of your youngest member...TK, I think," Meramon said, "He had fiery brown hair, and a pair of goggles."

Sora and Izzy looked to each other, one hopeful and the other concerned. Had there really been another human here all this time? For Izzy, he wondered how much the boy had learned during his time here and if he knew a way back to their world. For Sora, she worried how a boy about TK's age could have survived in this world on his own, especially long enough to have possibly died from old age. What worried her more was the possibility that they could be the ones to die in such a horrible way.

…

In another part of the Digital World, the same black figure continued to observe the children from above with leathery black wings keeping him aloft. He mused at the strength they were able to lend to their digimon partners and mulled over the implications of their ability - what potential they could have. While he watched, he spoke aloud to himself, "They're stronger than I expected. And five of them managed to digivolve their partners. They are still powerless without the other two, but the sixth will be a problem if he can unlock the power of his digivice and awaken his partner's true form."

He continued to watch in silence before continuing, "I won't let it. Prophecies be damned. I will not die! And I will not fail."

Further silence went through the air before he answered again, "If that is your command. Then I will do as I must."

He moved to depart, but paused and glanced down at the forest beneath him. He narrowed his eyes and scanned it carefully. For a moment, there appeared to be something below - a faint glimmer of light and movement. When he found nothing, he dismissed it as his imagination and carried on. He had preparations to make and a plan to fulfill. Either his death was approaching, or theirs.

 **Author's Note:** That's all for tonight, dear readers! My next update will be in one week on Friday, November 13th. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism. See you next week!


	4. The Manor

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Update four as promised. To be honest, this is the one I've been wanted to start with. But I figured focusing on developing the kids' personality first was more important for good story telling. Now for some quick replies:

 **LDSoshawott:** Wait no more, for here it is.

 **Teraunce:** Here it is! I hope you enjoy.

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 4: The Manor**

Another week of endless searching proved fruitless for the group. After they left Yokomon village, they traveled along the shoreline in the hopes of eventually finding a coastal town but soon realized they were traveling in circles on a massive island. No matter how far along they travelled, they were never able to lose sight of a single giant mountain in the distance - Izzy proposed that the mountain was likely the center of an island that they were on.

In that whole time, they searched for any sign of the human who came before them. Sora and Izzy shared with the rest of the group what Meramon told them. TK was excited by the idea of someone his age wandering around but Joe said that depending on how long the boy was here, he could've been a teen, an adult, or perhaps even a rotting corpse - a thought that terrified TK and earned him a punch from Matt. Mimi asked their partners if any of them knew anything about another human but, as far as they knew, the six of them were the first humans in the Digital World.

Since they were getting nowhere traveling along the coast, they decided to travel up the mountain. Sora believed they would gain a better view and be able to map out their surroundings. Nobody argued, since they were getting desperate and really wanted to go back. They travelled through the forest, occasionally sending Tentomon or Biyomon above the tree line to make sure they were going in the right direction. It only took a day's travel, but they eventually reached the foot of the mountain. And it was there that they saw their first welcome sight in a long time.

"Guys look!" Biyomon pointed out from her place in the sky. They followed her direction to find a lone manor - an aged edifice of Victorian style sitting on its own.

"No way! A mansion?" Matt paused at the sight of it, unable to believe what was right in front of him.

"I bet they can help us!" TK tried to run ahead but was caught by Matt, "Hang on TK. We don't know if anyone lives there."

"Oh," TK frowned.

"Don't worry TK! I'm sure the people who live there are nice!" Patamon offered hopefully, "And I'm sure they'd want to help."

"I just hope they have a bath," Mimi murmured, "I've been wearing the same clothes for days and I'm getting all gross with sweat."

"It wouldn't hurt to go knock on their door," Palmon considered.

"Yeah, but what if the people who live there are all crazy psychos?" Joe replied. They all looked at Joe quizzically before Izzy said, "You need to lighten up Joe."

"Sorry if I'm the one who has to be cautious since no one else will be," Joe defended himself, "Right Gomamon?"

"You are kind of a stick in the mud," Gomamon's answer was not what he wanted to hear.

"Not you too?" Joe frowned.

"Um, guys. Mimi's already gone inside," Gabumon pointed out to them. They saw Mimi disappear into the decrepit old manor and hurriedly followed her in. They couldn't believe that she'd so carelessly walk into danger like that.

The inside was proof of deceiving appearances; they were met by a well lit and finely furnished interior. A glass chandelier overhead illuminated the entire entrance hall. Ahead was a grand staircase leading to a balcony that oversaw the floor below. Doors ran along the walls, suggesting more rooms than seemed possible in a manor of this size. Atop the grand staircase was a large portrait of an angel in flowing white robes, kneeling upon a cloud in prayer and gazing upwards at beams of sunlight.

"Oh! Wow it's an angel!" TK cheerily stated, running up the stairs to get a better view the portrait.

"TK what's an angel?" Patamon asked curiously.

"Mom says they're guardians that protect you and stuff," TK's explained. Patamon tilted his head to the side in explanation, "The painting sure is pretty."

"This place is gorgeous! I'd like to live somewhere that's half as nice as this one day!" Mimi beamed at the decor of the manor around her. While she admired their new surroundings, a delicious aroma filled the air that reminded them all of how hungry they really were.

"Do you guys smell that?" Gabumon sniffed.

"Smell it? I can already taste it!" Mimi shrieked, running through the doors.

"Why does she always run in first?" Joe groaned.

"Who cares, it smells delicious!" Gomamon answered, while he and the others filed in. Joe reluctantly went along, suspicious of the entire scenario. They found themselves in a dining room with a long dinner table lined with six seats on each side and a feast in front of them. Turkey, slices of beef, steak, rice balls, noodles, miso soup, roasted vegetables, salad, and more were laid out in front of them in an enticing display. The others were already sitting down to eat but Joe's suspicion only deepened.

Granted this wasn't the oddest thing they'd encountered since coming to this world. Phone booths by the beach, a street car on a lake, black gears, monsters made of pure fire. Of all of them, this was the most normal and also the most out of place. Someone had to live here, otherwise who would have prepared all of this food? And if they had prepared it, why weren't they eating it? Worse yet, there were twelve seats - what were the odds that whoever prepared this was expecting to feed exactly twelve people.

"You guys, I don't think we should be eating any of this," Joe voiced his concern.

"Come on Joe. Don't tell us that you're not even the tiniest bit hungry," Mimi said, offering him a plate.

"No I mean, this whole thing is a little too good to be true. I mean a manor in the middle of the woods? A perfectly cooked meal with enough seats and plates for all of us? Also the door is unlocked but nobody is home? It sounds like a trap. How do we know the food's not poisoned?" Joe proposed.

"Tell ya what Joe. If I turn purple and green from the food then you'll know that they're not safe to eat," Matt said between bites of food.

"Okay, and what will we do if the person who cooked all this food shows up?" Joe asked.

"I'm sure if we explain what's going on, they'll at least understand our situation," Sora answered. Joe's stomach took this moment to growl in protest of his anxiety. Realizing how hungry he actually was, he hesitantly took a seat at the table and took small portions for himself.

"Here Joe!" Mimi plopped a big slice of ham onto his plate, "You don't know when a meal like this will come again. Enjoy it while you can!"

Joe's complaints stopped after that and they each had their fill. Once they had eaten, they decided to have a look around the manor. It was odd to them how much of Joe's attitude shifted now that he was full. He still brought forward all of his concerns, but insisted that the manor would make an ideal base if they had to stay in the Digital World for more than a few days.

Izzy and Tentomon found an expansive library filled with untold volumes of literature which he started reading in the hopes of better understanding the digital world. TK found a children's play room adorned with toys that he and Patamon immediately started playing with. As a favor to Matt, Gabumon agreed to keep an eye on the two while he had a look around. Joe, Biyomon and Sora found what looked like a large bedroom with six beds and a night stand for each. Matt found his way into a kitchen that he thought was stocked with enough food to last them for quite a while if they were careful with how much they ate. Mimi, Palmon, and Gomamon found a large walk-in bath with a dividing wall to separate the boys from the girls. More importantly, the bath was already drawn with steamy hot water. Mimi shouted her discovery out to the others and proceeded to leap out of her clothes into the warm bath water.

"Amazing! A hot water bath! Exactly what a pretty young girl needs after days of adventuring!" Mimi's voice echoed out of the bath and throughout the household.

"Mimi, do you ever think you come off as too spoiled?" Palmon asked.

"What makes you ask that?" she asked.

"Hey girls!" Sora came into the bath covered up in a towel. Biyomon came in from behind and jumped into the bath ahead of her.

"Sora! Come in and join us! The water's great!" Mimi waved. Sora took her time lowering herself into the steamy water and breathed a sigh of relief, "Ah! This water sure is nice."

After all of the traveling they had done over the last few days, it was nice to get a good soak in. She felt all the stress and aches of the last few days melt away with the heat of the water. The relaxing mood was ruined only by the voices of the boys from the other side.

"Come on TK! It's been days. You really should take a bath!" Matt's voice echoed.

"Do I have to?" TK whined.

"You do stink TK," Patamon's voice chimed in.

"Thanks a lot Patamon!" TK whined.

"It'd be better to get in now," Izzy threw in, "The longer you wait, the colder the water will get."

"The water is just right too! Hop in and we can do laps!" Gomamon suggested playfully. Splashing sounds echoed from the other side, followed by grunts and a loud shout from Matt, "In you go!"

"Wah!" TK yelped, before they heard a splash. Some water came over the head of the divider and crashed on their side of the bath, angering Sora, "Hey! Knock it off!"

"Sorry!" Joe's voice said over the wall. Mimi stood up in the bath so that she was half immersed in the water and shouted back, "Not yet, but you will be! Splash fight!"

Mimi scooped up handful of water and threw it over the divider at the boys side.

"Hey not fair!" TK shouted back just as great splash of water came over to the girl's side.

Palmon used her vines to start whipping water at their side of the bath. From the other side, they could hear boys scrambling to do the same. Sora shrieked when she was splashed with water and returned the favor. From their side, they could hear TK, "Come on Gabumon, we need more hands."

"I'd rather not get into the water," Gabumon answered sheepishly.

"Joe?" Izzy asked.

"No thanks, I think I'll just relax," Joe replied.

"Okay, then I'll just have to do more work to make up," Gomamon laughed, "Marching Fishes!"

The boys could be heard screaming on their side just as a school of fish appeared over their side of the wall and dove into the girls' side. Mimi, Sora, Biyomon and Palmon climbed out of the bath screaming. They watched the school pour into the bath water and disappear into some unknown depths the bath didn't appear to have.

"What was that, Gomamon?" Sora complained.

"How did those fish not get cooked in the water?" Izzy asked.

"I have a question, where did those fish come from?" Joe asked.

"Here's a better one, where'd they go? They looked delicious," Mimi peered into the water hungrily.

"I'm Gomamon, I don't have to explain anything," Gomamon answered flatly, "I'm just full of awesome like that."

"Yeah right. You're definitely full of something," Matt added.

Nobody felt like returning into the bath after Gomamon's reality defying feat - instead they cleaned off in the showers. Neatly folded bath robes waited for them in a side dressing room, much to their amazement. Worn from their sweaty clothes they dressed in for the last few days, they happily changed into this fresh pair that was available to them. Afterwards, they all retired to the bedroom that they'd found earlier.

"Whoa! These beds are so comfy!" TK and Patamon giggled while they hopped into the closest bed.

"The last time I saw a bed like this, I was dreaming," Mimi sank into a separate bed with Palmon.

"I think it's just nice that we're not sleeping on the ground for once," said Sora while she closed her own bed with her own partner.

"I don't think we should get comfortable guys," Joe pointed out, "This whole thing still feels like a trap."

"We'll just lock the door so that no one can get in," Gabumon said, turning the lock behind him. Joe remained unconvinced, "That could work, but there's no telling if someone is already in the room with us. And if the person on the other side has a key, locking it would've been pointless."

"Well, since you're so worried Joe, why not stay watch tonight while the rest of us get some sleep," Matt said excitedly.

"Wait, what?" Joe suddenly began to regret pushing this attitude.

"If you see anything then you can warn us," Gabumon pushed him towards the door, "That way, the rest of us will be well rested enough to fight back!"

"We'll do this in turns though, right?"

"I don't want to wake up so soon, so I guess you'll just have to stay up all night," TK said cheerfully, before turning over in the beg, "G'night! Don't let the Shellmon bite."

With that, TK was asleep and the others were quickly joining him. Joe watched in utter disbelief as they all slowly went to bed and defeatedly went to sit by the door, "Okay, I guess I'm staying awake all night."

"Don't worry Joe! I'll stay up the whole night with you," Gomamon comforted his partner.

"You sure you don't want to get some rest?" Joe asked.

"I can't leave my partner hanging!" Gomamon affirmed.

The two of them sat down and watched as the others all quietly slept. Izzy was the only other person awake and worked with his laptop. The light from the screen was bright though, so Izzy ended up joined them by the door to keep from waking the others. Joe peaked over Izzy's shoulder while he worked, "What are you doing on the computer Izzy?"

"Keeping notes on everything that's happened. Also I've been using a drawing program to draw a map of the island," Izzy answered.

"Notes on everything? So does this mean that you've remembered the locations of all the places we've been attacked?" Joe asked.

"Yes, I do. What are you thinking Joe?" Izzy smiled curiously. He opened the map of the island and marked the spot where they encountered Shellmon. Joe pointed at the lake and the desert area, "That's where we met Seadramon. And the place with Meramon, Unimon and Monzaemon."

Two more spots were highlighted on the map.

"Now let's add in the direction those gears came at us, as well as accounting for the direction of Unimon and Monzaemon's arrival," Izzy traced various line across the map. He then connected all the points on the map which left them an area the size of a thin triangle on the map. Excitedly, Izzy yammered, "Prodigious. With this, it should be easy to find the source of these gears. It's still a large area to cover, but this is a start."

"And the mountain is smack dab in the middle of this area," Gomamon pointed out, "We climb it tomorrow and we'll get a good view of the entire area."

"Good work Joe," Izzy complimented him.

"Hey, you did all the leg work Izzy," Joe patted him on the back. The screen flickered slightly and a distorted image came to the screen. Static obscured the image and left only a vague shadow.

"Hey what's that?" Gomamon asked.

"I don't know," Izzy pressed a few keys on the computer in the hopes that he could fix whatever was going on in the computer. When nothing happened, he frowned, "Whatever it is, my computer isn't responding."

They leaned in closer as the image cleared up and the vague silhouette took the shape of a face. A young boy with fiery brown hair and goggles over his face. Izzy's jaw dropped at the similarity between this boy and the description Meramon gave them. However, this boy didn't look to be TK's age. He looked older, probably around their age. The boy on screen appeared to be talking, but the distortion and static cut off his words.

"-enses have failed! They're…blishing beach hea…ack to secondary line…eed assistance…peat we ne…they're here!"

The image faded back into static and the screen returned to the map Izzy had on display earlier. Both he and Joe looked at each other in surprise.

"Did he say what I think he said?" Joe asked.

"You mean the part where he said they're here? Yeah, he said that part," Gomamon answered flatly.

"I think it was a recording," Izzy scratched his chin, "It was hard to make out though."

"But what did he mean by they're here?" Joe wondered. As if on cue, they heard the unmistakable noise of wood breaking under metal. They looked at the door and saw the sharp edge of a blade piercing through. The blade crushed its ways down through the door and was pushed aside with enough force to send it flying through to the other side of the bed room. The others were already scrambling out of bed, while Joe, Izzy and Gomamon backed away from the bare door framed.

An anthropomorphic lion walked into the room, his body so large that he had to hunch over to keep from hitting the ceiling. Long black tattoos were patterned across his body into a beautiful design. It wore a necklace of red beads, a pair of black pants, and leather straps wrapped around its arms. The lion turned its attention to the two boys and produced a low, guttural growl before pouncing on them. Joe, Izzy, and Gomamon rolled out of the creature's way and joined the others.

"Gabumon! Digivolve to! Garurumon!"

In a flash of light, Gabumon transformed into Garurumon and tackled their attacker. The two of them together were simply too big to fit inside the bedroom and soon crashed through the wall and back out into the grand hall. They all rushed back outside to see Garurumon and the lion digimon circling each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

"Who is that digimon?" Sora gaped.

"He's Leomon! A kind-hearted leader that some call the king," Biyomon explained, "He'd never attack anyone without a reason, and only after he'd try talking to them first!"

"Well, how would you feel if someone broke into your house, ate your food, used your bath, your clothes, and your bed without asking?" Joe asked.

"Everything in this house is kind of small to be his," Tentomon pointed out.

"Nothing saying that he didn't just kill the previous owners and take it," Joe added, "I mean, the black gears do make digimon crazy."

The two digimon threw themselves towards each other. Garurumon was the larger of the two, but having arms gave Leomon the advantage. Leomon grabbed Garurumon and threw the wolf over his shoulder through the exterior wall of the manor. The wolf stood up and steadied itself while Leomon proceeded outside to deal with him,

"I think he's going to need a hand! Sora?" Biyomon looked to her partner. Sora held out her digivice and nodded, "Go get him!"

"Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

Biyomon transformed in a flash of bright light into Birdramon and used her razor sharp claws to pin also on to the ground. She waved her wings and threw her fiery feathers, "Meteor Wing!"

Leomon howled when the fire consumed him. Before Birdramon could attack again, she was struck by a thrown bone club and tackled by a large green ogre. The ogre had long white hair and razor shard teeth piercing out of his wide open jaw which he sank into Birdramon before kicking her away.

"Birdramon!" Sora made for the stairs but was grabbed by Joe, "Sora! Don't!"

"I'm not leaving her!" Sora screamed back.

"I'll get her!" Gomamon jumped over the balcony and was enveloped by the light of Joe's digivice.

"Gomamon! Digivolve to! Ikakumon!"

Ikakumon crushed their new green challenger beneath his weight, but their new opponent just kicked Ikakumon off and out into lawn with Garurumon. Although Leomon found himself surrounded, he was still more than a challenge for both of them.

"Who is this guy?" Izzy asked.

"Ogremon," Tentomon's explanation began, "He's an evil digimon with a nasty personality to boot. He and Leomon are sworn enemies and have been fighting each other for a long time! They would never work together ever."

"It must be the black gears!" Joe pointed out, "Remember Shellmon and Seadramon? They completely ignored each other!"

"I'm not under the control of the black gears," Ogremon growled, "This is just for fun before I finally kill Leomon."

"Wait, what did he say?" Mimi's paused. They were all sharing the same thoughts. Ogremon was willingly attacking them for fun. Ogremon leapt up to the balcony and landed behind the kids, cornering them where they stood, "The deal is I work with Leomon to finally destroy you children and I finally get to kill Leomon in exchange."

"Why us? What did we ever do to you?" TK asked the towering monster.

"Yeah! We're just trying to find a way home," Matt threw himself between his brother and Ogremon. The green giant beamed at the kids in disbelief and mockingly laughed at them, "You don't even know do you? Why you're here? Ha! Then it will be all the more satisfying to watch you die!"

"Palmon!"

"Tentomon!"

Mimi and Izzy simultaneously called out to their partners. The two were pitifully small compared against Ogremon and after what they saw with Ikakumon and Birdramon, they clearly didn't stand a chance as they were. Palmon whipped her vines out and Tentomon zapped Ogremon with his electricity. The attacks were meaningless and would hardly hurt him. That wasn't their goal. They wanted to slow him down enough so the others could get away.

"Guys! The stairs!" Palmon ordered. They didn't need telling twice and made for the stairs down to the entrance hall. Unfortunately for them, Leomon was already marching up the stairs towards them. Behind him, they could see both Ikakumon and Garurumon unconscious on the ground. Birdramon also lay dormant at the entrance hall floor. All three digimon regressed back to their smaller forms. Adding to their horror, both Palmon and Tentomon were thrown over the balcony and onto the floor beside Biyomon. Ogremon cornered the kids at the top of the stairs, trapping them between the two giants.

TK looked behind him at the portrait of the angel - they were supposed to be guardians. They were supposed to protect kids when they were in trouble. So where was this angel? Who was going to protect them?

As if to answer his prayers, he saw a hand emerge from within the portrait to reach out for them. The hand offered itself to TK and he took it. Clasped between the icy large fingers, TK felt razor sharp nails dig in to his arms and its tight grip crushing his tiny hand. He screamed from the pain and Matt was already on his side trying to loosen TK's arm. No matter how hard they pulled or tried to break the grip, it wouldn't let TK go. TK screamed again, "Let me go!"

The portrait of the angel began to fade, the colors soured and the paint chipped away to reveal the torn canvas underneath. A face emerged from the portrait, obscured by the dark but with one visible feature - fiery red eyes that pierced into TK's soul and threatened to drive him mad. TK felt all the color drain from his face as he stared into this terrible red eyes.

"Boom Bubble!" Patamon inflated and released a blast of air at the emerging foe. It glanced sideways at Patamon and knocked him aside. Their new attacker emerged fully from the portrait, revealing long black horns growing from his head and fleshy wings where his body would be. It dressed in a full body leather suit decorated with belt buckles and pictures of tattoos.

"Okay, can we all agree that's the creepiest digimon we've met so far?" Joe panicked.

"Let my brother go!" Matt screamed. He retrieved his pocket knife and raised it over his head to stab the digimon. The new creature smiled, "As you wish."

It snapped its fingers and the kids were pushed by an invisible force down into the entrance hall below. The kids pulled themselves back up and found themselves surrounded again by both Leomon and Ogremon. Their newest enemy remained atop the staircase where the portrait was reduced to a faded blank canvas.

"Their digimon are too weak to continue. What do you want us to do?" Ogremon asked.

"End their suffering," the creature said.

"I obey," Leomon said flatly. The kids looked around but saw no sign of their partners anywhere. This was it. They were never going to see their home again. Their friends or their family. The kids were prepared to lie there and accept their fate. They closed their eyes

Then TK felt a hand wrap around his - a softer, gentler hand that offered comfort. TK opened his eyes and saw a boy around Matt's age standing in front of him. He had fiery brown hair and dressed in a set of black pants and black shirt under a ragged white cloak. What stood out most were the goggles wrapped around his head and the determined expression on his face. He offered TK a soft smile and jovially said, "Here we go!"

There was a blinding blast of light and their attackers could be heard screaming.

"Follow me!" the boy said, dragging TK by the arm through the manor so fast that he thought his arm would come off. The others followed close behind through the twists and turns of the hallways.

"Our digimon! Palmon's still back there!" Mimi screamed.

"They're fine. Don't worry about them. If I were you, I'd be more worried about the big lion chasing us," the boy answered. She looked back and saw Leomon in pursuit, albeit slowly and hunched over because of his large frame.

"What's with him?" Matt asked, "Why is he still following us?"

"It's Devimon's control," the boy said.

"Who?"

"Devimon. That big digimon with the black wings," the boy answered, "He's been using those black gears to take control of digimon and make them his puppets. Then he sends them off to do his bidding. Things like 'destroy those threats to my power', or 'raze a village for me', or 'I need milk for my cereal so get me some!' He's kind of a jerk like that."

"So what does he want with us? And who are you?" Sora asked.

"Oh, nothing special!," the boy said - leading them into the kitchen. He locked the kitchen door behind them and made his way to the back door, "He just wants to kill you so that he can harness the power of your digivices for himself to strengthen his rule. That'd be kind of a problem. Fortunately, I have this!"

The boy held up a digivice like theirs - weathered with time and battered. There were small dents and bumps along its surface, indicating how old it was. He explained, "I can use it to purify the dark gears controlling Leomon - freeing him from Devimon's control. It'll also weaken Devimon enough so we can fight back. And if we're lucky, my partner and I might survive. But don't worry about us though, we'll be fine. Probably. You guys just go and sing songs around a campfire. Or whatever you do."

Leomon slammed at the kitchen door, trying to break the lock to get in. The boy wasted no time opening the back door and ushering them all outside. Their digimon partners lay there on the grass, unconscious but still clearly breathing. Beside them were their clothes, properly folded and arranged by who owned what. A little orange dinosaur with big green eyes stood guard next to them. It waved and smiled proudly, "I got all the digimon outside safely."

"Good work Agumon! Now let's go take care of Devimon and his two lackeys," the boy said. He let Agumon inside and slammed the door shut behind them. The six kids were all left to stand there dumbstruck by their luck at the turn of events. The situation only became stranger when the door reopened and the duo stuck their heads out, "I'm the Digimon Tamer, by the way. And this is my partner Agumon. Who are you guys?"

They all stared blankly, still trying to take in what just happened. Sora was the first to collect herself, "Sora."

"Matt."

"Mimi."

"Izzy."

"Joe."

"TK!"

"Nice to meet you guys!" Tamer said.

"And your partners!" Agumon added.

"Run for your lives!" The duo said together before slamming the door shut behind them. The kids each went to pick up their unconscious digimon partner, as well as their clothes, and made a break for the forest. They ran for what felt like an eternity before stopping to catch their breath - their partners still unmoving.

"They're not waking up. They're not…dead, are they?" Mimi's lower lip trembled.

"No! I don't want them to be dead!" TK almost cried, coddling his unconscious partner.

"What was with that kid, anyway?" Joe looked back in the direction of the manor. In answer to his question, a loud fiery explosion appeared in the distance with enough force to knock them back on their feet. Debris rained from the sky - bits of flaming brick and smoldering wood crashed all around them. They took shelter behind the trees to protect themselves from the dust cloud that was kicked up. It only took a few moments for the dust to settle, but they all stared open mouthed in awe.

"Did he just blow up the manor?" Joe shouted in panic.

"Who is this kid?" Mimi wailed.

"He said his name was Digimon Tamer," Matt said.

"I don't think that's his actual name," Sora frowned.

"Fiery brown hair, and goggles," Izzy pondered quietly. Realization dawned on Sora, "Izzy, you don't think-"

"That was the boy Meramon was talking about," Izzy concluded. The others looked towards the faint glow in the direction of the manor. The light drew shadows that danced along the ground and the heat grew a pillar of smoke that drew high into the air.

"We should go. We don't want to be nearby if Devimon shows up," Sora said. They all agreed and continued walking with their partners in hand. While they walked, Matt asked, "What kind of name is Tamer?"

 **Author's Note:** That's all for tonight, dear readers! My next update will be in one week on Friday, November 20th. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism. See you next week!


	5. Secrets of the Past

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Update five. Well, last week happened. I'm not going to dwell on it because that's the kind of issue that can't be tackled or addressed in the author's notes. A terrible thing happened, and my condolences go out to everyone affected. On a lighter note, Digimon Tri came out online. Definitely go watch it. But not right now. Read the chapter first.

So now, on to the story:

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 5: Secrets of the Past**

Their group slept in a nearby cave to hide from Devimon. This time, they took Joe more seriously when he suggested someone stay awake to keep watch. Matt volunteered for that honor and insisted on staying awake the whole night so that the others could rest. They decided against making a fire that night to avoid drawing attention, and instead huddled together to keep warm. Matt stood watch just a few feet from the entrance to the cave leaning against a tree for support.

He thought of his inability to protect his little brother from Devimon - he couldn't wrest his brother free of Devimon's grasp, and would have lost him if that kid hadn't stepped in. He wasn't ungrateful, but it reminded him of the dangers of this world and how easily they could be killed. The thought made him sick to his stomach and he needed to distract himself from it. He retrieved his harmonica from his pocket and wandered just a little further away from the entrance - close enough to keep it in sight but far enough to avoid being heard.

The air soon filled with soft music while he brushed the harmonica back and forth across his lips. Playing it helped him relax and think clearly. It also helped that he was good at playing it. He played a few bars before hearing the sound of foot steps on the grass. He stopped and reached for his knife.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't want to interrupt you," Sora's voice said through the dark. He could vaguely make out her outline in the moon light dripping through the trees overhead.

"I didn't want to wake you guys," Matt mumbled, "It's not too loud is it?"

"No, I couldn't sleep and thought I'd take a walk," Sora said, sitting herself down beside Matt, "Then I heard your music."

"I guess it would be hard to sleep after everything that happened," Matt frowned.

"We nearly died," Sora stated flatly, "That kid and his partner were the only reason we got out of there alive."

"Do you think they got out of there too?" Matt wondered. Sora's silence gave her answer.

Matt recalled what she told him - Meramon said the boy had been looking for a way home for a long time, long enough that Meramon wasn't certain he was alive anymore. Was that their future? Were they going to die here in this alien world, far from home at the hands of a crazed digimon. Trapped here for so long that every digimon they met became convinced they'd died of old age. He brought his harmonica back to his lips and started playing it again, mostly to distract himself from the reality of their situation. After some time, he realized Sora had fallen asleep beside him and put his harmonica away to not wake her. He continued to keep watch through the night - observing the soft glow of light coming from the manor.

...

Matt and Izzy returned to the bombed out remains of the manor the next morning. Their digimon were still resting in the cave and the others stayed back to keep an eye on them. The manor was reduced to a few crumbling walls and a smoldering hole in the ground. They moved as much debris around as they could in search of the boy or his digimon partner. They spent the better part of an hour looking.

Nothing.

The area was clear of any sign of either the boy, his partner, or their would be attackers. If anything, it was a sign that their two rescuers made it out okay. Unfortunately, it meant their attackers were also alive. Matt took another glance at the ruin around him, then examined his digivice, "How did that kid do all this with one of these?"

"I suspect our digivices are capable of much more than we're aware of," Izzy pondered, already seating himself on a pile of bricks and bringing out his laptop to take more notes, "We already know that they allow us to digivolve our partners to make them stronger."

"No wonder Devimon is after us," Matt guessed, "I'd be after us too."

"That's not very reassuring," Izzy pointed out to him, "I'd almost think you meant we're the bad guys."

"No, I didn't mean that. But if you heard a bunch of kids our age all got devices that can make digimon stronger and also blow up buildings, you'd be freaked out. Right?" Matt pointed out to the computer whiz. Izzy nodded his agreement and closed his computer, "We should head back to the others. Tell them we couldn't find anything."

As they left, Matt felt a soft crunch under foot and gazed down. He'd stepped upon the angel portrait -now faded and torn. The edges of the frame were burnt to a crisp and the canvas was left brittle from the heat of the explosion. Matt recalled the demonic figure that emerged from the portrait called Devimon, and how casually it tried to harm TK. Seeing the portrait was harmless, Matt kicked it aside and continued walking - leaving behind the memory he wanted to forget.

...

Sora sat at the mouth of the cave, watching while Joe used what remaining supplies he had in his first aid kit to take care of their digimon. His supplies were short, but he did what he could - treating their injuries and applying bandages where they were needed. It was a short treatment, but it was the best he could offer in such a short time frame. Mimi and TK fretted over their own partners, wondering aloud when they'd wake up if they woke up.

The sound of leaves crunching alerted her to ready the pocket knife Matt loaned her. She didn't know how to use it, but it would hopefully scare off whoever was coming their way. When her eyes rested on Matt and Izzy, she lowered the knife and relaxed a little. That it was only them could only mean that they didn't find anyone back at the manor.

"No luck?" she half asked while giving Matt back the knife.

"Nothing. The manor's destroyed," Izzy confirmed. The others sank away upon hearing this. While it was a slim shot, they were counting on finding one of their rescuers.

"So now what?" Sora crossed her arms and retreated back to her partners side. Matt sat down at the cave mouth and closed his eyes, "I'm going to take a nap."

"Is now really the time?" Mimi frowned.

"I'm tired," Matt rolled on his side. She pouted at his indifference but didn't dwell on it.

"Let him sleep. He was up all night on watch," Izzy stated flatly, "Anyway, Joe and I came up with something I think the rest of you should know."

"Oh, what's that?" Sora peaked over at Izzy. The computer whiz had already retrieved his laptop and was displaying a crudely drawn map with a central area marked. Izzy pointed at the screen and explained, "We tracked our route around the island and marked areas where we encountered the black gears. Based on that, we concluded that the source of the gears was somewhere in this area."

Izzy referred to a highlighted area of the map.

"The mountain is right in the middle," Sora remarked.

"It's a safe bet that it's where the black gears are coming from. But-" Izzy paused to point at the highlighted area, "This is still a massive area to cover. As much as I'd like to think the source is the mountain, it'd make sense to search the area before we attempt to climb it."

"I don't see the point of that, though," Matt said without opening his eyes, "We already know who's controlling them. It's that Devimon guy."

"This is a large area. We can't be certain that the black gears are coming from just the mountain. Besides, do you want to go up against Devimon again?" Joe folded his arms almost like he was scolding the boy, "We may as well hand ourselves over to Devimon if we do that. Do you really want to put us in danger? Your brother?"

"What are you trying to say?" Matt propped his eyes wide open and was staring towards Joe.

"I'm just saying that we should be cautious," Joe said, still tapping his arms, "Gomamon and the others are the only ones able to protect us, and they're in no condition to move right now."

"Are you saying I can't protect my brother?" Matt asked.

"Will you two cool off!?" Mimi screamed at the two boys. Both Matt and Joe backed away from each other, "Geez. Why do boys have to be so macho all the time?"

"She is right. It'd be better to let cooler heads prevail," Izzy added, "Anyway. I think that once our digimon are better, that we should split up and search the area."

"Wouldn't it be better to stick together?" Sora asked, "There is safety in numbers."

"That hasn't really worked out for us in the past - Matt got carried off by Kuwagamon, Sora was almost crushed by Shellmon, TK almost got killed by Devimon," Joe added, "If anything, it makes us a big target. Fewer people moving around makes it easier to hide and guarantees they can't get all of us at once."

"We should form groups of three and go search the area, four people will have a better chance of hiding than twelve. But we can figure it out after our partners wake up," Izzy frowned, watching their digimon still resting unconscious on the ground.

It would be another day before their digimon partners would even stir. Their injuries had miraculously they didn't complain of pain, but were unbelievably famished. TK stayed to play with his partner while Matt kept watch, and the rest of them went out to forage whatever they could from the surrounding woodland - mostly berries and nuts. After the digimon had their fill, they asked how they were able to escape and Mimi happily explained - the goggle headed boy who saved them, the Agumon that quietly snuck them all out of harm's way, and the manor's destruction via explosion.

Their partners were naturally in disbelief that someone would miraculously show up to save them, and Palmon loudly asked if Mimi fantasized her idea of a pretty boy. The others confirmed the story, and the digimon were just glad that their human friends were alive. Izzy explained their plan to the rest of them and they split up into groups. Matt, TK, Patamon and Gabumon would be group one. Group two would be Izzy, Mimi, Tentomon, and Palmon. Joe, Sora, Biyomon, and Gomamon would be group three. They agreed to meet back at this cave by tomorrow before going their separate ways.

...

Izzy, Mimi, Palmon, and Tentomon walked through the steamy forest in search of their area of the forest. Mimi did not hesitate to protest her hatred of the climate, "This humidity is just awful for my hair. It gets all frizzy and makes my clothes all sticky. What are we even looking for, anyway?"

"Beats me. I like this humidity though. It makes my roots moist and makes for great uplift on my petals," Palmon answered happily, "My petals have never looked this good."

"Y'know Palmon. In some ways, you and I are completely different people," Mimi thought aloud.

"Well, yeah. It'd be weird if we were both the same person," Palmon answered back.

"I guess that would be weird to have two of me. Or two of you. I guess it's better that way," Mimi concluded. Further ahead, Izzy and Tentomon continued to trudge ahead into the unknown. Izzy continuously scanned the tree line around them while Tentomon asked, "What are we looking for Izzy?"

"Something, anything to do with those black gears we keep running in to," Izzy said silently.

"Okay, but what does that look like?" Tentomon pressed the matter. They came to a stop when the trees gave way to a large open field before them. Ahead of them was a large stone building; crumbling and overgrown with all manner of plant life. Weathered columns rose out in front as if to invite them inside. Izzy pointed towards it, "Probably something like that."

"I feel like we just wandered into an adventure movie," Mimi commented, "I think that makes you the damsel in distress Izzy."

"Wait, what? Why?"

"Because the hero in these adventure movies usually has a hat," Mimi said, tipping up her pink hat with a confident smile.

"Isn't the hero also usually a smart college professor?" Izzy asked.

"Are you saying she's not smart?" Palmon huffed with her hands on her hips.

"Do you think that's what I said?" Izzy shot back.

"Is it?"

"Was it?"

"Did you?"

"Did what?"

"Have the power."

"What power?"

"The power of voodoo."

"Who do?"

"You do."

"Do what?"

"Have the power."

"What are you two even talking about anymore?" Tentomon interrupted the two. Izzy and Palmon thought about it and could't recall what they'd started arguing about. Their attention was brought to a plop made a by large soft pink pile of mush that fell to the ground beside them. Their gaze moved up and saw a larger yellow blob with arms perched atop the tree with a mouth that went all around his body. A large tongue poked out of its mouth and hung out in the open, "You're pretty cute."

"Please say they mean Mimi," Tentomon said aloud.

"Yeah, you're real cute," said a pink rat with proportions so twisted that he'd pass for a cartoon character. It sat itself atop the yellow the blob and gazed down at them, "These are our woods you're using!"

"That didn't answer my question," Tentomon's arms sank.

"You need to pay a…um…a thing!" the yellow blob started.

"A toll!" the rat finished.

"Yeah! A toll!"

"A toll? For what?" Izzy asked.

"For using our forest! All we want is a kiss from the cute one!" the yellow blob stated.

"For each of us!" the pink rat added. Tentomon retreated behind Izzy and shrieked, "No thanks."

"Not you! The cute one," the yellow blob said again.

"Who are these guys anyway?" Izzy asked the two digimon.

"The yellow one is Sukamon and the pink rat is Chuumon. They're best friends who spend every minute together but there isn't a lot of brain between the two of them. Birds of a feather, y'know," Palmon explained.

"Okay, but who's the cute one they want a kiss from?" Tentomon asked.

"Obviously, they mean Mimi," Izzy stated flatly. Mimi's face choked up in revulsion, "You're saying that because you want _me_ to be the one to kiss them."

"No, I'm saying that because you are cute," Izzy corrected her. Mimi blushed, "Wait, what?"

"I said you're the…oh, I uh…well, I...um," Izzy turned bright red just as fast as Mimi, seemingly realizing what he just said. Neither Sukamon nor Chuumon were impressed, "Hey! That's our cutie you're mackin' on!"

Izzy was now so red that he resembled a tomato. Chuumon continued, "If you won't give us a kiss to pay our toll, then we'll just have to kick you out of our forest!"

"Eww! Like I'd ever kiss you!" Mimi yelped, shooing them away with her hand. She watched Sukamon produce another handful of pink mush in his hand and throw it at her. She caught a whiff as it whizzed past her head and her nose wrinkled at the stench. In utter horror, she realized what it was and shrieked, "Is that your-? Eewww!"

"And there's a lot more where that came from!" the little pink rat yelled. It produced a wedge of cheese from under nowhere and threw it at them, "Cheese bomb!"

To their surprise, the cheese wedge exploded into a spray of goop. Drenched in molten cheese, Palmon whipped her vines at the two while screaming, "Knock it off!"

Sukamon was knocked off the branch and hit the ground with a soft squish noise. Chuumon returned the favor by throwing another cheese wedge at the four of them. Mimi's digivice reacted by releasing a bright white glow throughout the area. Maybe it was the sound of the cheese exploding, or the chunks of molten cheese, perhaps even the surprise. Whatever the case, the light from Mimi's digivice struck both Chuumon and Sukamon. Black gears fled from their bodies and turned to dust, leaving the duo dazed and confused, "What just happened?"

"Fascinating," Izzy stepped out of stupor, "I didn't know the digivice itself could purge the black gears. I wonder if there's a way to replicate the scenario that triggered the digivice to purge these two the way that it did. Perhaps if we-"

"Y'know Izzy, you almost had me with that 'cute' talk earlier, then you started talking like that," Mimi said. Izzy stopped mid-sentence and went bright red again. He turned on his heels and made for the stone ruins ahead, "We should probably go back to looking for clues about the black gears."

"You're adorable when you're shy and flustered," Mimi teased, following after the boy. Palmon and Tentomon exchanged confused glances, "What was that about?"

"Who knows? Humans do the weirdest things," Tentomon pondered.

They wandered into the ruin to a find a large empty grey room. Glyphs of mysterious writing lined the walls, with forty characters from top to bottom and hundreds more from one side to another. A fine layer of dust, mold, and grime covered portions of the walls - leaving it unclear what they were looking at. Tree roots crept in through cracks in the wall and drilled their way through the stone surface. A few of the tree branches had what looked like power outlets sticking out of them. In the corner of the room was a lone black gear half buried into the floor.

Izzy pointed at it, "Look! It's one of those black gears!"

"You don't think Devimon's here, do you?" Mimi latched onto Palmon right away, hugging her so tight that Palmon was gasping for breath.

"I doubt it. The gear doesn't look like it's working. It's just laying there. If I had to guess, I'd say it's powered down," Izzy mused, "Besides which, these hieroglyphs are astounding. Perhaps there's something to gleam from the information written on these walls. All the history and knowledge of the Digital World to gain from this place. If only we could translate it."

"He's talking funny again," Palmon observed. Izzy cleared away some grime from the walls with his gloves, "Tentomon, Palmon. Can either of you guys read this?"

"No."

"Nope," both of their partners shook their heads.

"Well, I guess that means we'll have to do this the old fashioned way," Izzy sat himself down on dusty floor and opened his laptop. He connected it to the wall outlet, "I'll have to scan each and everyone one of these hieroglyphs and figure out what they mean. The question is, do these symbols each represent a letter, a word or a phrase? Thankfully, I'll be able to recharge my battery."

"Well, is there anything we can do to help?" Mimi asked.

"Oh…um…" Izzy looked around, "I guess just keep watch in case Devimon or more of those black gears show up?"

"What, don't think I'm smart enough to help you out with the translating? Or maybe you can't look me in the eye after calling me cute," Mimi teased. Izzy froze up and went bright red, making Mimi giggle, "Izzy! You're bright red. Anyway, I'm going to go have a look around and explore this place. Come on Palmon. Maybe we'll find a bathroom or some place you can wash that cheese off."

"Good. The cheese is all sticky and smells," Palmon agreed. The duo ventured deeper into the ruin while Izzy resumed work on his computer. Tentomon peered at his bright red partner who made a face like he was desperately trying to hold in a fart. Tentomon offered the boy a pat and asked, "Izzy, are you okay?"

"It's nothing," Izzy commented, "Just trying to work out these glyphs."

"So, that thing Mimi did was nothing?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Izzy stated bluntly. He resumed work on his laptop computer, taking the time to record each and every symbol he saw on the walls and guessing on what they could possibly mean. He worked silently for some time with the only noise coming from Tentomon pacing back and forth at the entrance. After what felt like an eternity of silence, Tentomon commented, "Y'know Izzy. Mimi and Palmon have been gone a while."

Izzy sighed, still working on his laptop, "It's weird. I can't find anything resembling a pattern in these symbols. Repetition is supposed to be a key part of language - patterns forming to communicate ideas and thoughts. But after reviewing so many, I still haven't encountered the same symbol more than once."

"Izzy, are you listening to me? Our friends haven't come back yet," Tentomon danced up and down in front of Izzy to get his attention. The computer whiz was still deeply engaged by his computer when suddenly the screen flashed and was replaced by a map of what looked like the building. A single blinking light moved along the direction , "What's this? Prodigious! A map!"

"IZZY!" Tentomon screamed at the top of his lungs. Izzy snapped out of his stupor, "Did something happen?"

"Izzy, our friends have been gone a for a long time!" Tentomon pointed down in the direction Mimi and Palmon had gone, "They haven't come back, but you didn't notice because you were too busy on your computer. Sometimes I think you like that computer of yours more than you like other people."

Izzy paused when Tentomon said that, a look of deep contemplation across his face, "I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention."

"We should definitely go looking for them! Who knows what happened," Tentomon proclaimed.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Izzy pointed at his screen, "If this map is for the entire building, then we could get lost looking for them."

"Well we can't just leave them there, who knows what's going to happen to them!" worried the little bug digimon. Izzy clicked around the map a few times, then clicked on the blinking red dot. Mimi's voice came to life on the computer's speakers, "I hate it here! I want to go home! Why does this stuff always happen to me!?"

"At least we're together, right Mimi?" Palmon answered.

"As much as I hate this, you're right. I can't think of anyone else I'd rather be stuck with."

"Aw! I knew you like me!" Palmon giggled.

"I think we just found them," Izzy noted.

"Great, that means we can guide them out," Tentomon cheered, "How do we do that?"

"Like this," Izzy produced a headset from his bag and wrapped it over his ear. He connected it to his laptop and spoke, "Mimi! It's Izzy! Can you hear me?"

"Izzy? Oh great, now I'm hearing things," Mimi huffed, "Next thing y'know, we'll be hallucinating ice cream sandwiches!"

"No I heard it too," Palmon replied.

"I'm talking to you through my computer. I don't know how but I also have a map on my screen," Izzy explained, "Just follow my directions and I'll get you out."

"Could you guide us to a bathroom first?" Palmon requested eagerly, "This cheese smell isn't doing me any favors."

"I don't see any bathrooms on the map," Izzy answered her, ignoring Palmon's loud and vocal groan, "Take a few steps forwards so I can see which way you're going. Good. Now continue in that direction and take a left. You'll reach a large room with a hole in the middle."

He watched the blinking dot move along the map and eventually stop at the large room, "Izzy, did we have to take the scenic route?"

"There should be a narrow ledge along the side that you can follow," Izzy told her then watched the red dot start edging along the side of the room. Once she was clear on the other side, he instructed her to continue moving and make a right at the next split in the corridor. When she started moving, he noticed a second yellow dot suddenly appear on the screen, "Hang on. What's this?"

"Izzy, there's a noise behind us. Please say that's you," Mimi said.

"That sounds kind of big to be Izzy," Palmon added.

"I'm still by the entrance with my computer," Izzy said, "But I see it too and it's moving fast. Run! Get out of there!"

The blinking dot that was Mimi took off while the yellow dot pursuing her gave chase. Izzy continued to guide them through the labyrinth until she and Palmon were on a straight run to the entrance. Izzy took off his headset, grabbed his digivice, and darted for the hall into the ruin. From the depths they could hear the unmistakable sound of foot steps, screaming, and stomping.

"Are you ready, Tentomon?" Izzy asked.

"When you are!" Tentomon affirmed. Izzy pointed his digivice at his partner and waited for him to digivolve. Tentomon disappeared in a bright flash of light and was replaced by the towering Kabuterimon. At that moment, Mimi and Palmon emerged screaming at the top of their lungs, "He's right behind us!"

"Who?" Izzy asked.

"Centarumon!" Palmon answered.

From out of the shadows behind them came what appeared to be a man riding a horse. Or rather a man with a horse's body where his legs should be. His face was obscured by a metallic full face helmet from which they could see a single glowing red eye. A single pauldron was used to cover the digimon's left shoulder, from which could be seen a broken chain. His right arm from the elbow down was a single cannon that fused flesh and metal together. Centarumon pointed the cannon at them, "Intruders are not permitted in this place."

A bolt of yellow electricity shot out of the cannon and punched a hole right through the wall behind them. Kabuterimon tackled the large digimon, grappled him in his arms, and threw him out through the wall producing another large hole. In that moment, they could see a black gear digging into Centarumon's back. Mimi called it out, "A black gear!"

"I see it!" Palmon chased after Centarumon and digivolved into Togemon. The two large digimon exchanged punches briefly, landing them in a deadlock. Izzy, Mimi, and Kabuterimon joined them outside; Kabuterimon joined the fight between the two, "Electro Shocker!"

The attack struck the gear head on, and it disappeared into a cloud of black matter. Centarumon paused where he was, before falling over to the ground dazed. It only took him a moment to recover, to which Mimi asked, "Are you a good digimon now?"

He examined both Mimi and Izzy, then looked at Kabuterimon and Togemon regressing back into their smaller forms, "I have a headache, but I think I'm fine."

"That may have been our best battle yet," Izzy remarked.

Centarumon examined them carefully, then asked, "You two…you're humans correct?"

Izzy and Mimi both nodded to Centarumon's delight, "Then do you have digivices?"

Both Izzy and Mimi hesitantly showed their digivices to Centarumon. He gleefully punched the air, "So you've finally come! Please, come with me! There's so much to tell."

"You're not going to attack us again, are you?" Izzy had to ask. Centarumon motioned for him to follow, "Nonsense! Why would I attack you?"

The four looked at each other and then followed Centarumon into the ruin. While he guided them, Centarumon explained, "This ruin is an ancient temple dedicated to those digivices that you wield. Those who built this place have long since passed and only I remain as its sole protector."

"Ancient? But our digivices look brand new!" Mimi gleamed from her digivice which she dangled in front of her, "How could something like this be old?"

"It was lost to time with their creators, said only to return with the darkness. The digivice is a preserver of the light, produced as a last line of defense against the darkness that now consumes the Digital World and threatens all of existence," Centarumon added. He led them into a large chamber deep inside the temple. On the far side was an altar, enshrined to a large symbol in the shape of a digivice carved into the wall, "Now that light is all but destroyed, but you're presence here is cause for hope."

"The way you talk, you make it sound like we're heroes or something," Izzy joked.

"You are. You're being here marks the turn of the tide."

Izzy and Mimi both dropped their digivices in surprise, an act that mortified Centarumon, "Don't drop those! They're the most important devices to our world and are the key to our salvation!"

"Hang on! We didn't agree to this! Why do we have to save this world? We're just kids who were at summer camp," Izzy started at a rapid fire pace, "Wouldn't it have been more practical to give this responsibility to adults? Or the military? I'm sure they would have been better candidates that six kids. Well, except for that Tamer kid and his Agumon, but they actually seemed to know what they were doing."

"Who?" Centarumon asked.

"We met another kid with a digivice," Izzy explained, "He called himself Tamer and had an Agumon with him."

"Centarumon, is that kid supposed to be one of us?" Mimi asked.

"I suppose he should," Centarumon reasoned, "All who hold digivices are meant to be heroes in this world."

"Well, I wouldn't mind having this for an accessory, but I do wish they'd come in more than one color," Mimi stated. The two of them scooped up their digivices

"I'm afraid I can't answer that question. Those who built this temple and produced your digivices are gone. Only they could have answered that. In either situation, the fate of this world as well as yours now rests on your shoulders. All of you," Centarumon stated bluntly to the four of them. Izzy and Mimi looked to their digivices, then to their digimon partners.

"Heroes or not, I'm not going to leave Palmon hanging," Mimi stated, "Girls stick together, right?"

"Right!" Palmon and Mimi clapped their hands together, "If it helps Palmon, then I'll help save your world!"

"I wouldn't be much of a friend if I let Tentomon down," Izzy mumbled, "Plus, there won't be much to learn from this world if we let it be destroyed."

"Thank you," Centarumon nodded, "You truly are the chosen meant to save this world."

"So where do we start?" Tentomon asked with curiosity. Centarumon motioned for the exit, "Much of the knowledge of those who used to live here is lost to time. The language is old, its meaning unknown. I can't tell you what to do next or who your enemies are. But go out into the Digital World, and your enemy will make themselves known."

"Sometimes I wish the digimon we spoke to weren't so cryptic," Mimi frowned.

"Well, what can you tell us about those black gears?" Tentomon asked, "They are the reason we're here. We wanted to find the source, and a way to stop them."

"This is the source," Centarumon said, stamping the ground with his hoof. The floor tiles cracked a little, revealing multiple black gears turning below in mechanical synchrony, "They come from the island. Placed there long ago, perhaps by those who made this temple. Perhaps long before."

"So they're everywhere?" Palmon gasped in horror, "How are we supposed to stop them from turning digimon bad?"

"We find Devimon! Naturally!" Tentomon offered, "Do you know where to find him?"

"I'm afraid that is everything that I know," Centarumon apologized. Izzy shrugged it off, "It was more than enough. At the rate we're going, it seems like the bad digimon just find us. We're bound to run into Devimon again."

"It's as good a plan as any," Palmon thumbed to the entrance, "Come on! Let's go tell the others."

"Good luck to all of you," Centarumon said. Mimi, Palmon, and Tentomon made for the exit.

The four said their good byes and departed the temple. They learned more than they'd expected at this temple, and perhaps better understood the reason they were here in this world. None of them knew if they could save this world, but they would certainly try.

 **Author's Note:** That's all for tonight, dear readers! My next update will be in one week on Friday, November 27th. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism. See you next week!


	6. Among the Dead

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Happy Friday to all of you! I hope that you are all well and to any American readers, hopefully Thanksgiving didn't overwhelm you with a battle against the turkey meats and unpleasant gravies. I'm taking a quick alternative to review responses so I'm replying to user reviews directly through the site's system and guest reviews here only. Because there is no other way for me to do it. So a quick reply to a guest:

Guest: Danken. Entschuldigen sie mich. Mein Deutsch ist schlecht. Ich kann deine Geschichte nicht schreiben. Ich bin beschäftigt mit The Tamer und werden keine Zeit haben, um eine andere Geschichte zu schreiben. Ich hoffe, dass ich dieses korrekte. Mein Deutsch ist wirklich schlecht.

And so, on with the story.

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 6: Among the Dead**

Sora, Biyomon, Joe and Gomamon trudged through the now darkened forests along a path that seemed to be disappearing the further along they went. With every step they took, the leaves overhead got thicker and the forest seemed to get darker. At some point, they were certain that they were no longer on a trail and were instead aimlessly wandering the forest. To make it worse, a dense fog settled in and completely obscured the forest around them.

"We are definitely lost," Joe frowned at the fog, "I think we should stick close together so that we don't separated."

"In this thick fog, I can barely see in front of me," Biyomon put both her hands out in front of her, "I just put my hands forward and they disappeared."

"Biyomon, hold my hand so we don't get separated," Sora extended her hand to her bird partner. She felt the feathery wing wrapped around her hand and squeezed it tight, "Stay close."

She felt another grab her free hand and looked down to see Gomamon holding her, "You too?"

"I think we just lost Joe," Gomamon frowned. Sora and Biyomon looked around them but found the fog too thick to see.

"Joe!" Sora shouted into the fog.

"Joe!" Gomamon screamed with her.

"Where are you guys?" Joe's voice echoed back from somewhere in the fog, "Guys?"

"We're here! Follow our voices!" Biyomon called out, "Olly Olly oxen free!"

"Marco!" Joe shouted.

"Polo," Gomamon shouted back. Sora sighed her disbelief at the odds that this is what they'd be doing. Joe's voice called out to them again, but still he did not reappear. In fact, he sounded further away than before. Sora called out to Joe, "Okay! Don't move! We'll come to you."

She waited for a reply and called out again, "Joe? Did you hear me?"

No reply. She squeezed both Biyomon and Gomamon's hands, "Let's go."

They moved through the fog hand in hand, calling out Joe's name through the fog and forest. It didn't take them long to eventually stumble upon Joe pressing against a tree nervously, as if in hiding. He saw them, put a finger to his lips, and pointed to something on the other side of the tree. They joined him and stuck close to the trees before sneaking a peak. There was a tall stone wall wrapped around a church. It was finely decorated with lanterns, wreaths, and flowers.

A group of people lined in a circle around the front of the church, dancing hand in hand and singing merrily. Each of them wore the same mask of a smiling face with big wide eyes. They were the first adults they'd seen in a long time, but their appearance offered no relief. They seemed to twitch and flail with each movement. Joe stared at the dancing people and whispered, "The first adults we find in a long time, and there's something off about them."

"I agree," Sora sighed. Biyomon and Gomamon seemed lost, "What's wrong? They look like ordinary humans."

"You said we were the first humans in this world," Sora said.

"We've been wrong before. Like with that other kid, Tamer or whatever his name was," Gomamon added.

"Maybe they're friendly and will help us out," Biyomon tried to be positive, "Let's go talk to-"

Sora covered Biyomon's beak and shushed her, "We can't! What if it's another trick by Devimon?"

"What's a trick?"

The group was startled by the sudden appearance of a man standing beside them in priestly robes. The priest wore the same smiley face mask as the others in the chant, but the smile did little to reassure them. He noticed their discomfort and calmly said, "I apologize. I didn't mean to frighten you, but I thought I would invite you to join our festivities."

"What festivities are you celebrating?" Joe asked hesitantly.

"This festival is meant to honor our lord, the great Bakemon," the priest explained.

"I've heard of that digimon. But why would you worship someone like Bakemon? Isn't he supposed to be a really big jerk?" Gomamon asked.

"Our lord is not a jerk!" the priest snapped, "He is a just and righteous god who offers hope to the lost!"

Joe snatched Gomamon away, "Don't mind Gomamon! He talks without thinking sometimes. He didn't mean to be rude, he's just a little careless!"

The priest harrumphed and folded his arms, "Perhaps explaining some of our beliefs will help you understand."

The priest motioned for them to follow him but they remained steadfast. Joe tried to keep his voice calm but it still shook, "Sorry. We're not going anywhere until we have some explanations."

"All will be shared and explained. Come with me in to the church," the priest assured them, "You seem a little thin and look tired. We have refreshments inside, as well as beds to rest."

"What are humans doing in the Digital World?" Sora asked aloud. The priest continued walking as if nothing was wrong, still motioning for them to follow. The four exchanged worried glances and cautiously joined him. They didn't want a repeat of the incident at the manor, so they kept their eyes peeled. Both Joe and Sora kept their digivices ready, while Gomamon and Biyomon readied themselves for any surprises. They counted the number of doors and when they walked through the church entrance for exits. Then the number of people in the church who could get in their way.

There were six others in the church with, also men in priestly robes standing at the altar bowing before a cross angled like an x. They quietly uttered their prayers and lit candles with each new prayer they left. As they walked, the priest explained to Sora and Joe, "We are like you, lost in this world and without guidance and with no way to go back. Lord Bakemon saved us, provided us with purpose and brought us together here in safety. Under his guidance, we have survived and prospered in this world."

"Is that why you wear the masks?" Joe noticed the other priests were also wearing smiley face masks.

"The masks are to honor Lord Bakemon. We never know his face and in turn we choose not to show ours to each other. The masks conceal who we are as our Lord Bakemon conceals himself from us. That is the mystery of our faith," the priest carried on.

"So you worship a guy and you don't even know what he looks like," Gomamon remarked, "That's certainly a mystery."

"Do you question our faith?" The priest asked, "All that we have is from Lord Bakemon. We were lost but Lord Bakemon protected us. Provided for us."

"Sora, I think I just remembered something," Biyomon tugged at Sora's shirt and spoke at just above a whisper. Sora leaned down as discreetly as possible and whispered, "What's that?"

"Bakemon...is a ghost type digimon," Biyomon whispered back. Sora's eyes widened in panic and she tapped Joe to get his attention. She pointed him towards he front entrance and made her excuses, "Well, I'm sure your Lord Bakemon is a nice guy and we don't want to disturb your celebrations any more than we already have. We'll show ourselves out."

"Do you not want to stay for the offering?" the priest offered to them.

"You guys seem really busy. Maybe next time?" Joe came up with the excuses.

"Surely you'd like to indulge in a treat on such a festive occasion," the priest said excitedly.

"A treat sounds good right about now guys. Why don't we have o-" Gomamon stopped when Joe stepped on his leg. He picked up his partner and made for the door, "Oh don't worry about us. We'll just go."

Joe opened the door and found the humans from before standing at the threshold to block them in. They crowded inside, surrounding the four so that the only place to run was back towards the altar. Sora and Joe both readied their digivices and stepped away slowly, "Look, we're not looking for trouble."

"I'm afraid that it's already too late for that," the priest stated, "You see, the treats that we offer aren't for you. The treats are for our Lord Bakemon. All we have to offer for you is a trick."

"You mean like halloween? So we're going trick or treating?" Joe's voice contained the tiniest sliver of hope, "I mean, it would explain all the masks. Although you all have the same one."

Joe trailed off when the priest started speaking, "Yes, halloween. That's a holiday from your world. A celebration of the dead if I recall. A time when you say 'trick or treat' while going door to door for candy. Well this is the trick. And you are the treat."

The priest peeled his mask away and his body contorted in agony before turning into what looked like a bed sheet ghost with teeth under the mouth part. The other priests and celebrants followed the lead priest, their bodies twitched and convulsed before transforming into more bed sheet like ghosts. Joe and Sora held out their digivices, calling to their partners. Biyomon and Gomamon leapt into action, then were promptly swarmed by their attacks. The lead ghost cackled, "The trick is this is our true form. The treat, is that you will be sacrificed to our lord. What an honor."

"Biyomon!" Sora swatted at the attacking ghosts with her gloved hands to free her partner, only to be pulled into the dog pile. Joe tried to pull her out but was sucked into the pile with her. They held him down and struck him repeatedly until he was too sore to move. This didn't stop the beating and at some point he slipped into unconsciousness.

When he finally came to his senses, it was to the sensation of something squeezing him tight and binding him so that he couldn't move. He could hear voices around him but couldn't quite tell what they were saying. The world around him faded back in and out of darkness. He tried to sit up, but his binds were tight. A quick glance down confirmed that he was wrapped by rope. Beside him was Sora, also bound to rope and seemingly mouthing something to him. It was impossible to make out with his pounding head. Finally, he could register what was going on around him and he realized they were both lying on the altar with the ghost digimon around them. Two of them approached with shakers of salt and pepper. They scattered it over the pair, while chanting to each other.

"Joe! Are you listening?" Sora screamed, "Joe!"

"Yeah, yeah," Joe mumbled, "We have to get out of here."

"They have our digivices!" Sora wailed. Joe looked around. They were surrounded by the ghost digimon, so they couldn't run to the exits. One of them held the digivices tight in its hands, fiddling with them like toys. Their digimon were nowhere in sight.

"Where are Gomamon and Biyomon?" Joe shouted. The ghost above them cackled, "Shouldn't you be more worried about yourselves?"

…

In a holding cell beneath the church, Biyomon and Gomamon rattled the iron bars to their prison. On the other side, they could plainly see one of the ghosts - a lone Bakemon - standing guard. The guard dozed lazily, knowing full well that they weren't going to get through those bars. Gomamon called out to the guard, "Hey! Bakemon! You call yourself a guard? You don't even know how to taunt us!"

The Bakemon popped an eye open and smiled, "Taunt you? Okay, how about this: You don't have a bathroom in there and I bet your last pee break was a while ago. Now excuse me, because I'm thirsty."

The Bakemon produced a water bottle which he jostled in his hands. The water splashed around against plastic then he made a display of pouring the water into his open mouth. Biyomon and Gomamon shifted uncomfortably as the Bakemon finished his drink. He threw the water bottle aside and smiled, "That was refreshing. I don't know about you, but I really have to go to the bathroom now. Excuse me."

The Bakemon departed out of sight of their holding cell, leaving the two digimon dancing in place. Biyomon slapped Gomamon, "Way to go! What was that supposed to accomplish anyway?"

"I thought I could get him to come over here and dangle the keys in front of us. Then we'd knock him out and escape," Gomamon explained quietly. Biyomon rolled her eyes, "That's stupid and you're stupid for thinking that could work. Now I have to go and there's no toilet."

"Well, you can always go in corner," Gomamon nodded. Biyomon slapped him again, "I am not going in the corner!"

"I guess you'll have to hold it then," Gomamon frowned. He looked over at where the Bakemon dozed and spotted the keys hanging on a peg in the wall, "He left the keys though."

"And how are we supposed to get them?" Biyomon grumbled, "We're in here and they're over there. It's not like we can reach them!"

"Well you could ask me to give them to you."

They were interrupted by the appearance of a boy in a long white cloak. The boy obscured his face by concealing it beneath the hood and took the keys off the peg. He jangled it in front of them and asked, "Well? I thought you wanted these?"

"We do. But the last time a bunch of people showed up without showing their faces, they turned out to be trouble," Biyomon grumbled, backing away from the cell door.

"What are you doing in there anyway?" the boy asked.

"We got captured," Gomamon stated.

"What did you do that for? I figured staying out of there would've been easy," the boy said, "So do you want these or not? If not, I'll just put them back and be on my way. I have other things to do, y'know."

"How did you get in here? Weren't there guards? What do you want with us?" Biyomon asked.

"In order: through the back door. I didn't see any. And nothing," the boy put the keys back in the peg, "I take it you don't want them. Bye!"

"What about the guard in the bathroom?" Biyomon asked.

"There's a bathroom?" the boy asked, "Wait, ghosts have to use the bathroom? Why? How? What?"

"Hey!" the boy spun on the spot as he was tackled by the ghost. His hood fell off, revealing the fiery brown hair underneath and a pair goggles around his head. Realization struck the two digimon as they realized this was the same boy that rescued them in the manor. The boy and the ghost struggled against each other on the floor, but the ghost overpowered him. It dragged him and pinned him against the bars with both of its claws squeezing his neck, "How did you get in here!?"

"Pepper Breath!"

A ball of fire came from nowhere and set the ghost aflame. Bakemon screamed and howled, while the boy kicked him against the wall. The Bakemon continued to scream and flail before turning into particles of data. Another digimon appeared, a small Agumon that was slightly smaller than the boy. The boy replaced his hood and gave the digimon a high five, "Thanks for watching my back."

"Always," the Agumon smiled, "Oh, it's you guys. I'm glad to see you're alright. Anyway, I scoped the upstairs. There's about twenty seven Bakemon in the church. Also, I think they're about to eat your partners in a couple of minutes. Half an hour if they cook them. More if the one with glasses keeps talking."

Biyomon gasped, "Okay! Let us out of here! We have to help them."

"Oh, now you want out?" the boy asked.

"You killed him," Gomamon commented in horror, "You killed him!"

"Yeah. I did," Agumon shrugged to Gomamon's amazement.

"He's dead because of you!" Gomamon shrieked, unable to grasp why they were treating the death like it was nothing. When Mimi spoke of their rescuers, she made them sound like heroes. She didn't mention that they were possibly psychotic.

"Technically, he was already dead. I don't think you can kill what was already dead. Or as dead as digimon can come since they usually just reformat. In Bakemon's case, it's a digimon that never completed it's reformatting process so it got stuck as an undead digimon," the boy started off at a hundred words a minute, "Then again, I suppose being undead means we just made him re-dead. Dead again. Pro-dead. I don't think any of these actually work. Agumon?"

"Uber-dead! Anti-dead! Anti-life? Re-life? We relived them. Hmm. I guess re-kill works. Maybe un-kill?" The Agumon pondered, rubbing his chin.

"You guys killed another digimon!" Gomamon shrieked at them, startling the pair of them. The boy approached their cell and folded his arms, "You're welcome?"

"How could you guys just kill another digimon like that!?" Gomamon yelled at them.

The boy shot him a stern look, "Do you honestly think they would have cared when they killed you? Of course not. They wanted to kill you and they probably wouldn't have been as quick about it. Or, I'm sorry, maybe you haven't quite figured that part out yet? In this world, if something's trying to kill you then you better kill it first. Seriously, there are things out there much worse than Devimon and his black gears!"

"You're insane! Killing can never be acceptable, no matter who it is or what they've done," Gomamon stepped away from the cage. The boy was unaffected by those words, although Agumon was visibly put off.

"NOT THE TIME! SORA AND JOE ARE IN TROUBLE!" Biyomon snapped, "ALSO, I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM SO LET US OUT!"

The boy snatched the keys from the wall, "Okay. Okay. I'll let you out. One condition: Agumon and I were never here. Say you tricked one of the guards or whatever, and you escaped when they dropped the keys. But we were never here. Understand?"

"Who are you guys anyway? Mimi said your name was Tamer, and I can tell you're an Agumon by the looks of you. But why help us?" Gomamon asked nervously. The boy and Agumon looked at each other, then the boy the flashed them a weathered old digivice, "Does this answer your question?"

"You're-"

"Yep," the boy put it away and started opening the door, "Been lying low for a long time. Wanted everyone to think we were dead, but you and your friends had to go and walk into the most obvious trap in the world. I figured it was a mistake and you learned from it, so we decided to help you. Then you did it again. And it was the same kind of trap! It's amazing. Anyway, Agumon, show them upstairs then meet me out back. We're leaving."

"Wait! Come with us!" Biyomon said as the door opened, "You're just like us! You can-"

"Cause you guys a lot of problems," Agumon interrupted plainly, "Sorry, we've been on the run for a long time. And after what happened, we'll be the ones they're looking for. It'd be better for you guys if we keep them distracted by chasing us. I'll take you upstairs so you can save your friends. After that, you're on your own."

"What about you?"

"We were never here," the boy stated before disappearing around the corner and presumably upstairs. Agumon guided them out of their cell and around the corner to a set of bathrooms where both digimon quickly relieved themselves. Once they finished, they were led up stairs to the main cathedral hall where the Bakemon were now swarming around their partners. Gomamon and Biyomon tip toed behind the pews, looking for a chance to go in and rescue Sora and Joe.

Joe could be seen on the altar pleading, "You know, if you try to eat me then you'll find out I'm not very tasty. Look at me. I'm all skin and bones. Plus I'm all tough and gamy. Not exactly eating material."

"Joe, are you trying to say they should eat me first?" Sora yelled at him, "Thanks a lot!"

"I'm not saying they should eat you, I'm saying they shouldn't eat either of us!" Joe shrieked, "What do you say? Let us go?"

"Can we just eat them now? It'd make him shut up faster," one of the Bakemon said.

"Not until we've finished preparing them," another scolded, "I like my humans seasoned just right."

"Is that why you've been lathering us in barbecue sauce for so long?" Joe asked, "Because I don't think we're soaked enough yet."

"Okay, I'm eating this one raw. He's so whiny," one of the Bakemon cackled. Joe whimpered, "This is it! It's curtains for both of us!"

"Now is not the time for your pity party!" Sora yelped, "We're going to be eaten and I'm not going to just lie down for it."

The Bakemon finished their chanting and came together, their bodies joining together to become a single large Bakemon. The one holding their digivices dropped to the ground, and the two digimon saw their opportunity. They went straight for their digivices and then to their partners. Gomamon knocked them both off the altar and used his claws to undo their bindings while Biyomon buzzed around the large Bakemon to distract him.

"You guys are alright!" Joe smiled, "And you saved us!"

"Don't thank us just yet! We still have Lord Bakemon over there!" Gomamon stared at the large ghost while Biyomon continued fluttering around. Joe and Sora took their digivices in hand, prepared to now fight back, "Let's go!"

Their digivices lit up the darkened church, causing Bakemon to shriek in complete and utter terror. This same light engulfed their digimon partners - allowing them to digivolve.

"Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

"Gomamon! Digivolve to! Ikakumon!"

The church was suddenly too cramped with three large digimon inside it. Sora and Joe fled out through the back door of the church to find a large grave yard. Stones marked each grave, with no signs of care given to either the stones or the land which was overgrown with weeds. Sora and Joe took cover behind some of the stones while their partners continued to hash out their strength against Bakemon. Ikakumon fired off round after round of torpedoes while Birdramon threw her feathers at the ghost. Bakemon was unfazed by their attacks, and pressed towards Joe and Sora.

"I don't think it's working," Ikakumon growled.

"Got any ideas?" Sora mumbled, "Running into the woods is out since we'll just get lost again."

"Well, my grandmother used to say that saying a sutra to ask for good grace would ward off evil spirits," Joe stated, "We just chant it and it will either weaken Bakemon or scare him off."

"Makes about as much sense as anything else in this world," Sora frowned, "Do you know any sutras?"

"Grandma taught me one so I could pray for good grades on my tests," Joe put his hands together in prayer and quietly chanted, "Buddham saranam gacchami! Dhammam saranam gacchami! Sangham saranam gacchami! Namo tassa bbagavato arahato sammasambudhassa!"

Sora listened intently to Joe's chanting in an attempt to memorize it. Joe paused in the middle of the prayer and looked at her, "We need a prayer drum!"

She took her hat off her head and offered it to him, "How about this?"

Joe set it down and took up a stick in his hand. He tapped it a few times to heat its beat and sighed, "It's as good as anything."

He drummed it at a slow and steady beat while continuing his chant. Sora put her hands together and joined him, following along as best as she could, "Buddham saranam gacchami! Dhammam saranam gacchami! Sangham saranam gacchami! Namo tassa bbagavato arahato sammasambudhassa!"

Over their chanting, they could hear Lord Bakemon begin moaning in agony, "What's happening? What are you doing?"

Bakemon wavered in place and slowed considerably. Enough for Birdramon and Ikakumon to attack him once more. Ikakumon fired his torpedoes. Birdramon's feathers erupted from her wings. Bakemon could hardly move and so was knocked over by the blast of the torpedo. Birdramon's feathers burst into flame and set Bakemon ablaze. The heat was so great that Bakemon could scarcely move on the ground, he could only helplessly scream in agony. Bakemon lumbered to get back off the ground and stumbled. Ikakumon looked at the helpless ghost and growled, "We're done. Let's go!"

Birdramon and Ikakumon turned their backs on the ghost, only for Birdramon to be grabbed from behind by a large blue claw. Bakemon cackled as he dragged the bird to the ground and clawed at her. Sora leapt out of her hiding spot behind the grave and ran to her partner, "Birdramon! No!"

"Sora! Stop! It's dangerous!" Joe grabbed on to her hand and held on tight, despite Sora's protests, "Ikakumon! Do something!"

Ikakumon watched Birdramon try to fight back, but the weight of Bakemon above her kept her from moving. Ikakumon charged straight for the pair, but Bakemon saw him approaching. Bakemon knocked out Birdramon with a blow to the head, and elevated to the air with her as a hostage. Bakemon kept one claw around her throat and growled, "Surrender now or the bird gets it."

"Birdramon! No!" Sora shouted, "Let her go! Let her go! Ikakumon! Do something!"

"I-" Ikakumon looked back and forth, hesitant to use his harpoon torpedo. If he did, he risked a chance of hitting Birdramon. Then she'd be in trouble. But just by looking, Ikakumon could tell that Bakemon was prepared to do the worst. His options were limited. He needed to save her but that meant he'd have to kill Bakemon. Ikakumon didn't mind knocking other digimon out, but he didn't want to have to kill another digimon. That was unthinkable.

"Ikakumon!" Joe shouted, "Use your harpoon torpedo!"

"It's…"

"Do something!" Joe cried out.

"But-"

"Ikakumon!"

"Nova Blast!" A great ball of fire emerged from somewhere in the forest and struck Bakemon in the back. Bakemon shrieked and released Birdramon. Birdramon fell to the ground and changed back in to Biyomon. She fell to earth, but Sora and Joe were there to catch her before the fall killed her. With Birdramon out of the way, Ikakumon had the opening he needed. He closed his eyes and fired one last torpedo at Bakemon, and the following explosion destroyed Bakemon. He howled and screamed as his body broke down into particles of data, then dissipated to nothing.

Ikakumon stared awestruck at what he'd done. He'd killed another digimon. He glanced towards Sora cradling Biyomon, with Joe using whatever medical supplies he had to take care of her. Neither of them seemed particularly fazed by the fact that he'd killed another digimon. The fog started to break and the first gleams of sunlight rose over the horizon. With their surroundings clearing up, Ikakumon noticed something the others didn't. The boy in the hood and his partner Agumon standing beside him. Agumon waved, then the duo disappeared into the forest leaving only fog in their wake.

Ikakumon regressed back into Gomamon and rejoined the others. Joe checked Biyomon consistently and grumbled, "I have no idea where to look for a pulse. She's breathing so that's something."

"Sora," Biyomon whimpered. Joe took some splints from his med kit and bandages and wrapped it around her neck, "I don't have a neck brace so this is the best I can put together."

"She's okay, right?" Sora frowned. Joe shrugged, "I don't know anything about first aid for digimon. If she's breathing, that means she should still be alive."

"Guys, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have hesitated," Gomamon cast his eyes downward.

"No, you shouldn't have. But what's done is done," Joe said, "What's important is that we're all safe."

Gomamon kept his gaze on the ground, but Joe patted him, "Thanks. For doing what you did."

He could at least perk up a smile after that. Sora held Biyomon close, "Thank you. Gomamon."

"But it wasn't just me," Gomamon pointed out. Joe nodded his agreement, "I saw. That fireball came out of the forest. Which means we're not alone."

"No we're not," Gomamon circled around them watching the tree line, "Guys, you should know. We didn't escape on our own. We had help."

"From who?" Sora asked, her voice seemingly disengaged.

"It was Tamer and his partner Agumon," Gomamon explained. Both Sora and Joe were surprised, giving Gomamon's amazed looks. Joe and Sora started pounding him with questions.

"Where did he go?"

"Did he say anything?"

"He said they were on the run and needed to hide," Gomamon repeated. Joe adjusted his glasses and replaced his supplies in his bag, "We should head back. This search has been a bust and Biyomon doesn't look like she's in good condition. Let's get going."

"Yeah, okay," Sora cradled Biyomon in her arms and the trio left the graveyard. She looked down at her unconscious partner, quietly praying that she would be okay. The sun finally peaked over the horizon, bathing them in warm light.

 **Author's Notes:** That's all for tonight, dear readers! My next update will be in one week on Friday, December 4th. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism. See you next week!


	7. Primary Village

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Thanks to all you guys out there for reading and enjoying The Tamer. Here's update seven as promised. As before, I'm now handling review responses directly as opposed to in the author's notes. So, on with the show.

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 7: Primary Village**

Matt walked in the lead in their march through the forest, his brother TK and Patamon a few paces behind him, while Gabumon took up the rear. TK and Patamon didn't know, but the only reason they walked like this was so that Matt and Gabumon could protect them. The day was cool and breezy, not a cloud in the sky. TK and Patamon chatted excitedly between themselves with TK happily imagining, "I bet when you digivolve, you become way awesomer than Garurumon, Birdramon, Kabuterimon, Togemon and Ikakumon combined!"

"Yeah, but what could I digivolve into that's more awesome than that?" Patamon asked.

"What do you digivolve into?"

Patamon shrugged, "I don't know. I don't know what I'll digivolve into until I digivolve."

"Hmm. I bet you'll turn into Oinkmon! With the power to oink at your enemies!" TK imagined, "And you'll oink so loud that you'll scare them to death!"

Patamon's eyes were wide with horror, completely unenthused by this possible digivolution, "I don't think I want to become that."

"Well how about Hogmon? With a super big snout that can sniff anything and suck in all your enemies!" TK continued happily, to Patamon's growing horror, "I am not a pig TK!"

"Well the others just turned into bigger versions of what they are. Gabumon becomes a big wolf. Biyomon becomes a big bird. Palmon becomes a big plant."

"So I'm a pig?" Patamon seemed almost offended. TK stopped, "Well what are you?"

Patamon's frustration turned to realization when he sheepishly answered, "I don't know."

"Patamon is Patamon," Gabumon offered an answer, "He'll digivolve when he digivolves, and we'll call him by whatever he turns into."

"I think that's called a tautology," Matt chimed in, to both TK and Patamon's annoyance, "You guys are sounding like Izzy."

"Yeah, but we're two cool dudes. Right Gabumon?" Matt smiled confidently. Gabumon nodded, "Yes we are."

"That's easy for you guys. Gabumon can digivolve and you can cook," TK pouted, "What can Patamon and I do?"

Matt was speechless, he had no idea how to answer it. Thankfully, Gabumon spoke in, "Don't compare yourselves. It's like Matt's vanilla and you're rocky road. Yeah, they're both ice cream - but their differences are what make them unique. Don't worry about your digivolution, or what you can do."

"Where are we supposed to find black gears, anyway? It's not like there's going to be a sign. Or a…giant stuffed toy block," Matt stopped in his tracks, halting the others with him. TK and Patamon peeked around him to see a wonderland of giant stuffed blocks, toys and stuffed animals spreading out as far as the eye could see. The ground was the greatest oddity, somehow turning into felt and cloth stitched into brightly colored patterns.

"Do you think the black gears could be there?" TK asked excitedly, completely indifferent to actually looking for or finding black gears.

"Wouldn't hurt to check," Matt patted his little brother. TK and Patamon ran straight ahead on to the felt ground and started rolling on it, "Wee!"

"Do you think this is such a good idea?" Gabumon asked. Matt shrugged and walked after his kid brother, "They're kids. Let them have fun."

"You're a kid too Matt," Gabumon commented, earning him no response. TK and Patamon bounced on the felt surface, giggling with joy. Eventually, their bouncing brought them to an massive space adorned with eggs as far the eye could see. A little beyond the eggs were wooden baskets resting along the ground. TK and Patamon stopped their games and approached the cradles, "What are these?"

"They're cradles," Patamon explained, waddling over to one and peering inside, "Have a look TK!"

TK peered into the cradle to see a little black ball with two puffy ears and bright yellow eyes. It cooed on seeing TK, "Whoa, it's so cute! What is it?"

"It's a Botamon," Patamon explained, "It's a baby digimon."

"Really? What does he digivolve into?" TK asked.

"Who knows? Normally they digivolve to Koromon, but they can become Lopmon, Veedramon, Impmon, and a lot of others."

"So do you have a lot of digivolutions?"

"No, only when you're a baby," Patamon said, "But you're only a baby once."

"What about that one. The black one with a leaf coming out of its head?"

"That's a Nyokimon," Patamon explained, "They usually become Yokomon."

Patamon went on to identify every baby they found, while TK oohed and ahed. Matt kept an eye on their surroundings and a hand on his pocket knife, in case any danger showed up. Gabumon quietly wandered the area around the eggs and the cradles, mostly to make sure TK didn't do anything that could harm the babies. TK and Patamon's adoration was cut short by sudden whimpers from one of the cradle. TK and Patamon were quick to answer the baby's cries for attention, "What's the matter little guy?"

"Maybe he's hungry?" Patamon suggested.

"What do babies eat?"

The whimpers turned to sobs then wails. And it multiplied quickly. Every baby was crying aloud at once, each of them with a need. TK and Patamon ran back and forth between the cradles, unsure of what to do or how to get the babies to stop crying. While the two raced helplessly, Matt approached the nearest cradle and scooped up the little baby digimon inside. A little blue ball with long white hair all over its tiny body. A quick glance at the cradle told him all he needed when he saw the wet stain on the ground, "Looks like you had an accident buddy. Here."

Matt retrieved a handkerchief from his pocket and used it to wipe the little digimon down, then wiped up what he could from the bed. There were no spare diapers or baby powder anywhere, so he put the baby down on a part of the bed that wasn't soaking. The child settled down and cooed at Matt, who offered him a smile, "All better, yeah? Let's see, who else needs a hand?"

Matt tossed aside his now dirtied handkerchief and went to work tending the next baby he came across. Each one had a different reason for crying: hunger, burping, an accident, sleep, or simply wanting someone to play with them. Matt tended to each one expertly until each baby calmed down and returned to sleeping. While Matt worked, Gabumon, Patamon and TK watched in awe at his ability to tend to them.

"Matt seems really mature for his age," Gabumon commented. TK crossed his arms, "Is he? Matt's always been like that so I can't tell."

"You don't think it's weird that he doesn't act like the others?" Gabumon asked.

"Yeah, I noticed that too," Patamon stood up on his hind legs, "Matt goes out of his way to take care of other people. Mostly you."

"Y'think so?" TK cocked his head to the side, watching his brother put the last baby digimon back into its cradle where it cooed quietly before snoozing. Watching Matt work like this reminded him of a time long ago. A memory so faded that it was practically a dream. He hurt himself, he couldn't remember how or why. He remembered crying and being really sad. For the longest time, no one came until his older brother Matt appeared before him. Matt comforted him and the pain went away. Everything was right and his tears turned to joy. TK tried to remember more, but could only draw a blank.

"What are you doing to my babies?" a gruff and demanding voice called their attention towards a single red digimon with blue stripes and sharp quills poking out of his body like a tail. Behind the digimon trailed a large ruck sack stuffed to the brim with fish. Matt and Gabumon were quick to step in front of the newcomer to protect TK and Patamon, "Helping them. Who are you?"

"Why would strangers come and 'help' my babies? If I had to guess, you were doing something to harm them," the digimon growled, "Otherwise, they wouldn't have been crying."

"Yeah, I guess that's true," Gabumon shrugged, "Or maybe we're just a group of nice guys who can't look the other way when kids are crying."

Their arguing caused one of the babies to break out crying. The red digimon tensed up and Matt threw up his hands, "Look, we don't want to fight."

"Then get out of my way," the digimon said, staring both Matt and Gabumon down. Matt motioned to the side, "TK, Patamon, stay behind me and Gabumon."

The four of them stepped out of the new digimon's path and let him go towards the crying baby. The red digimon coddled the newborn in his arms, "Hey there little guy. Are you hungry? Do you need a change? Hmm, it looks like someone tried to clean up your mess."

"That was me," Matt explained, "I didn't have any other diapers though, so I just wiped him off."

"Her," the digimon corrected, pointing off to a box at the edge of the forest, "The diapers and powder are over there."

"It's not like I knew it was there," Matt grumbled, while the red digimon cleaned the baby's bed.

"No, of course not. With skills this sloppy, I'm surprised you can take care of yourself, let alone anyone else," the red digimon frowned. Matt's fist tightened, "Do you want to say that again to my face?"

"We can add violent to that," the digimon sneered, "If anything, I would think you're the one who needs to be taken care of."

"If you've got something to say, why don't you just come out and say it!?" Matt's tone became increasingly hostile. Sparks were already beginning to fly and it seemed like the duo could start hitting each other any second, so Gabumon stepped between the two, "This arguing isn't doing either of us any good. Perhaps if we introduce each other? I am Gabumon and this is Matt. With us are his little brother TK and his partner Patamon."

"I am Elecmon," the red digimon introduced himself, "I am the caretaker of Primary Village."

"Primary Village? Like a primary school? Is that why there all these babies?" TK asked.

"Recently deceased digimon reformat into digieggs," Elecmon explained, returning the changed baby to the cradle, "Some of the stronger digimon retain memories of their previous life but most begin again, no memories of their old life."

"That's so sad," TK added but Elecmon was nonchalant about it, "For many digimon, that's not such a bad thing. There are some things that many would rather forget. I'm sure you understand that."

He looked right at Matt. Matt pointed at himself, "Me? What do I have that I'd want to forget? I'm fine with things the way they are."

"Of course you are," Elecmon shrugged sarcastically, "Why else would you go out of your way to help babies? Oh right, you're 'nice' guys."

"Why are you acting like such a jerk!?" Matt shouted back, "Seriously! Who let a grump like you take care of babies?"

"Do I have to put you two in separate corners?" Gabumon asked the duo, "It's like you can't go more than a few seconds without trying to start a fight with each other."

Matt backed down while Elecmon silently tended to his babies. Matt motioned to the others, "Let's go. We're not going to find anything related to the black gears here."

"Black gears?" Elecmon's attention turned to them, "What do you want with the black gears?"

"We keep being attacked by digimon controlled by the black gears. We're trying to find the source so we can put a stop to it," Gabumon explained. Elecmon grunted, "Destroy them when you do. Many digimon are dying lately."

"But they reformat and come back here, don't they?" TK asked.

"Not all of them survive the reformatting process," Elecmon answered, "Many digimon are dying. Not all of them make it here."

TK looked at Patamon anxiously, unnerved by the possibility of Patamon being killed forever. Gabumon nodded his affirmation, "Sure! "

The group went to leave the massive nursery and made it just to the outer edge of the forest, when they heard a thunderous roar, "Fist of the Beast King!"

A ball of fire shot towards them from the trees, and from the flame burst the face of a lion. Matt quickly pushed his brother to the ground and shielded him. Gabumon and Patamon grabbed babies from nearby cradles and moved them out of the way. The blast exploded and punched a smoking hole in the ground, the felt smoldered and smoked. The noise awoke the digimon babies and they all started crying out in fear. Elecmon appeared right away, "What happened to my babies!?"

"We have them, they're safe," Gabumon shouted, cradling a few in hand and rocking them back and forth to calm them down. Elecmon directed Gabumon and Patamon to place the babies in nearby empty cradles, then ran out to meet their would be attacker. To both their surprises, Leomon approached them with sword in hand. He spoke with his low guttural growl, "I will destroy the human. I obey my commands."

"Leomon! What are you doing? Why are you attacking us?" Elecmon called out to the lion digimon. Leomon answered with a swing of his sword, narrowly missing Elecmon who leapt out of harm's way. Elecmon hissed at the lion, "I don't know what's come over you, but I won't let you harm my babies! Super Thunder Strike!"

A bolt of electricity shot out of Elecmon's tail and struck Leomon in the chest. The attack had no effect on Leomon and he continued to press towards Elecmon, "I will destroy all who stand in my way."

Leomon pressed forward, swinging his sword wildly and Elecmon dodged past each one. It soon became clear Elecmon was keeping Leomon's attention on him to draw the lion away from Primary Village. Leomon took the bait without question, continuously pursuing Elecmon until they reached the edge of the nursery. When they were that far, Leomon stopped his pursuit, turned around and began chasing TK and Matt. Matt pulled TK up and they ran away from the cradles. Leomon made it clear he only wanted to kill them - Matt and TK. There was no point in letting the babies get hurt from Leomon's rampage. Matt and TK hid behind one of the large wooden alphabet blocks. He put a hand over TK's mouth and held his mouth shut, so the only noise was the sound of Leomon stomping towards them.

"Boom Bubble!"

"Blue Blaster!"

They heard the noise of impact followed by a grunt. Matt peaked around the corner to see both Gabumon and Patamon facing Leomon down. Leomon rounded on them, returning his sword to its sheathe and raising his fist, "Fist of the Beast King!"

A ball of fire shot out of his fist. Both their partners fled out of its way before it exploded. Matt called to his partner, "Gabumon!"

He could feel TK trying to scream over his hand, but Matt held his brother's mouth shut. Leomon heard Matt's voice and continued his pursuit. Matt cursed their luck, TK still fidgeting beside him. He had to protect his little brother and keep him out of harm's way. He didn't want a repeat of what happened at the manor. Matt leaned in close to his little brother and whispered, "TK. I need you to keep quiet and stay here. Okay?"

He could see the worried expression on TK's face and he asked again, "TK! Do you understand? Whatever happens, stay here."

TK nodded, tears in his eyes. Matt put a fingers to his lips, then leapt out of their hiding spot, "Hey! Booger breath! Look at me! I'm a target!"

"Fist of the Beast King!" Another blast of fire erupted from Leomon's hand and Matt took off for a run away from TK, "Missed me! What's the matter? Are you blind?"

Leomon growled and pursued Matt, completely ignoring his little brother's hiding place. Matt breathed a sigh of relief and continued running towards the edge of Primary Village, away from TK and the babies. Leomon hurried his pace from a slow walk to a full run and Matt quickly realized he would not be able to stay ahead of the lion. It only took a blink for Matt to see Leomon appear in front of him. Leomon grabbed him by the arm and lifted him up so they were face to face. Matt offered a timid grin and apologetically said, "Y'know, I was kidding about the whole blind thing. And I'm sure your breath doesn't smell like boogers, either."

Leomon drew his sword. Matt closed his eyes. His brother was safe. That was all he cared about. He didn't care what happened to him, if it meant his little brother would get to live. He heard a soft whistling noise coming from his digivice and glanced down to see the white light emanating from it. Leomon dropped him to the ground and recoiled away, throwing up his arms to shield his eyes from the light. Matt scrambled to his feet and grabbed his glowing digivice. The light it emanated was stopping Leomon. He didn't know or care why, but it was stopping him.

"Matt!" Gabumon appeared with TK and Patamon. Matt turned his head to see his kid brother running towards him. Even though he told him not to, TK had come out of hiding and was going towards him, "TK! Get ba-"

All the wind was knocked out of him. In that moment he'd looked away, he didn't noticed Leomon waving his arm to knock the light away. He hit Matt, lifting him off the ground and sending him into a nearby tree. TK and Patamon stopped in their tracks, while Gabumon continued to charge in with reckless abandon, "Don't lay a finger on him."

Leomon swung his sword at Gabumon, narrowly missing the little digimon who threw himself between Matt and the monster, "Matt!"

"I know," Matt mumbled, pointing his digivices at Gabumon. It whistled and hummed to life, and Gabumon digivolved.

"Gabumon! Digivolve to! Garurumon!"

Garurumon charged straight for Leomon, tackling him into a nearby wooden block and tearing at him with his jaws. Leomon struck Garurumon's head with the hilt of his sword, but Garurumon sank his teeth deeper into Leomon. The two grappled against each other, before Garurumon released him and opened his jaw wide, "Howling Blas-"

Leomon shoved his entire arm down the wolf's throat. Garurumon reeled back, gagging and retching from the trauma of someone forcing any part of their body down his throat. Leomon rose to strike again, his sword raised high above his head. A bolt of lightning struck the sword and channeled down through the rest of his body. Leomon twitched violently, but the electricity did little to slow him down. Elecmon appeared and fired a few more bolts of electricity from his tail, "Super Thunder Strike!"

Bolt after bolt of electricity struck Leomon, each one with less impact than the last. Leomon's fist cackled and burned, "Fist of the Beast King!"

A ball of fire erupted from his fist and took the face of a lion. Garurumon pushed Elecmon and was blown off the ground by the blast. He crashed into a tree and regressed back into Gabumon. Matt sat there awestruck, amazed by how quickly Leomon took down Garurumon. He hadn't forgotten how dangerous he was before, but part of him wanted to believe it was because they'd been caught off guard and half awake. Here, it was made clear. Leomon was physically superior to them in every way imaginable. Leomon stood victorious over his unconscious partner, getting ready to deal a killing blow. He recalled what Elecmon said. Digimon are reborn here in Primary Village, but not all of them survive the process. That couldn't happen to Gabumon. Matt wouldn't allow it.

Matt found enough strength of will to push himself off the ground and limped towards Gabumon, eventually falling to the ground just feet away. He was tired. The wind was beaten out of him, and his body ached from the one blow Leomon dealt. Still, he pushed himself back up and moved until he was at Gabumon's side. Leomon had stayed from delivering his sword into Gabumon, eyes gazing down at Matt to watch the boy force his way there. Matt threw himself over Gabumon and shouted, "I won't let you hurt him!"

"I obey my commands!" Leomon grunted, taking up his sword once again.

"Leomon! Stop it!" Elecmon shouted.

"MATT! NO!" TK screamed. Matt's eyes widened when he heard his little brother's voice. He turned his head to the side to see TK running towards him with Patamon. He told him to hide no matter what, but he should have expected TK not to listen. Not when he knew his brother was putting himself in danger for his sake.

"TK! Just run!" Matt shouted back, "Save yourself and Patamon! Get away!"

"No! I'm not leaving you!" TK shouted. Leomon heard his voice and turned to face him, "Destroy the small one!"

TK stopped where he was when the giant lion looked him in the eye. The world around him tuned out. He heard Matt shouting something, but he couldn't make out any of it. Patamon charged straight for Leomon, and was casually flicked aside. Elecmon ran out in front of TK. He said something, but TK was too paralyzed with fear for it to register. The next thing he knew, Leomon threw Elecmon aside and TK was face to face with the monster. Matt was still shouting, but none of it was intelligible. Patamon was out, Gabumon was out, Elecmon was out. It was just TK and Leomon now. There was no one who would be able to save him. He wanted to run away, but couldn't find the will to move. He prayed for something, anything to happen. Something that would stop Leomon in his tracks. Leomon raised his sword and TK's digivice hummed to life. There was a burst of light from TK's digivice, brighter than any light produced by the others digivices and Leomon recoiled away in pain.

TK remembered seeing his brother do something similar with his own digivice, and followed his example by taking his digivice in hand. He aimed it straight at Leomon, who howled, screamed, and gnashed his teeth from the excruciating pain. Whatever he was doing, it was working. The light was bright and warm, providing a measure of comfort for TK - and he knew could use it to beat Leomon. The light burned brighter than before and TK could vaguely see the shape of a black gear driven from Leomon's back. Then another. And one more.

The gears burst from the light and Leomon was brought to his knees, gazing skyward in confusion. When the light of TK's digivice passed, Leomon could be seen lying on the ground in a daze, unsure of when or how he arrived at his location. TK wearily approached him, knowing the destruction of the black gears should have made him friendly again. However, he couldn't afford to be careless, unless Leomon should prove to still be a threat, "Leomon?"

"TK!" Patamon shouted, bobbing towards the little boy, "How did you..."

"I don't know," TK frowned, "I just did what Matt did and then-"

He stopped mid sentence when Leomon's eyes turned towards the little boy and he jumped in surprise, "Wah!"

Leomon sat up slowly and took in his surroundings. He was calmer now, gentler than he had been seconds ago. His gaze wandered around a bit longer before he set his eyes on TK's digivices, "A digivice?"

...

Matt breathed a sigh in amazed relief, he was certain his brother was done for. That he would die, and he would be helpless to do anything but watch. Then the flash of light and Leomon was on the ground while his little brother stood there victorious. Patamon was checking on his little brother now, and the two seemed to be talking. Elecmon was also recovering, going off to check with his babies. Assured that they were no longer in danger, Matt focused on Gabumon stirring under him, "Matt?"

"I'm fine, you?" Matt mumbled back, pulling himself off his partner. Gabumon massaged his head and sat up, "We do not have the best luck with Leomon."

"No, we don't," Matt chuckled. Then he saw Leomon shoot up and Matt's relief turned to worry, "TK!"

Leomon's head shifted towards him and Matt gulped. It didn't help when the lion began approaching them with TK along side him. Matt began to cry out but stopped when TK waved at him nonchalantly. Leomon offered a hand to both Matt and Gabumon, "Are you two alright? I am deeply sorry for the trouble I caused all of you."

"So you're not going to try to kills us anymore?" Matt asked.

"No. Again, I can't express how sorry I am for this," Leomon bowed his head, "I would never wish to bring harm to the guardians of the Digital World. Rather, I'd want nothing more than to help them. But the black gears took control of me and I was unable to stop it."

Gabumon took the offered hand and was lifted up. Matt pushed himself off the ground, leaning against his partner for support, "Guardians?"

"You're being here was foretold in a prophecy. When darkness has all but consumed the digital world, children will appear guided by the light to drive back the dark," Leomon said, "But I can tell you more at another time. Are there others with you?"

"We split up to find out more about the black gears," Matt answered, "Like if there was a source we could destroy to stop them, or something else like it."

"I know where they come from and I know how to stop them," Leomon offered happily, "I will tell you everything once we find your friends."

"Leomon!" Elecmon returned from his babies with an annoyed expression, "I'm glad to see you're back to your senses. What came over you?"

"I was taken over by the black gears and I lost control of myself" Leomon explained, "But these children and their digivices saved me."

Elecmon cocked his head to the side, "I see you're still preaching that message of yours."

"It's not a joke," Leomon insisted. Elecmon scoffed and scratched his ear, "If you're alright, that's all I care about. The last thing I need is one of the good digimon showing up in the village as an egg. Especially after he just rampaged through it. Or not showing up."

Leomon sighed, "We have lost much. I apologize for what I've done."

"Don't," Elecmon waved a finger at him, "Things happen. You can't undo the past. What's important is you accept and deal with it in the present."

A sudden loud wail alerted them to the needs of Elecmon's babies and he bemoaned, "A father's work is never done. Take care of yourself Leomon."

"Take care of our friends," Leomon bowed his head to Elecmon as he went back to take care of his children. The five departed afterwards for the cave where their group agreed to meet after their search. They would stop occasionally as Matt was still recovering from the force of Leomon's blow. Leomon helped him by allowing the boy to lean on him for support. Matt occasionally looked side ways at his little brother, hugging Patamon tight in his arms. His own digivice was able to slow Leomon down, but TK was able to stop him entirely. He wasn't jealous. He could never be jealous of his kid brother.

But he was concerned. TK was able to do something he couldn't. He knew the day was coming where TK would no longer need or depend on him, but he didn't think it would be coming so soon. The thought of it left him lonely but also proud. His brother would be fine without him. Perhaps that was all his little brother needed to be.

…

 **Author's Notes:** That's all for tonight, dear readers! My next update will be in one week on Friday, December 11th. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism. See you next week!


	8. The Prophecy of the DigiDestined

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** This makes eight updates over eight weeks. I am on a roll! Here's update eight on schedule. As before, I'm now handling review responses directly as opposed to in the author's notes. If you left a review, look out for a reply in PM box. So, on with the show.

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 8: The Prophecy of the DigiDestined**

The day after they'd all left, everyone one of them returned to the cave as they agreed. Sora, Joe, Gomamon and Biyomon were there first ones back, arriving at about midmorning. Izzy, Mimi, Palmon and Tentomon arrived next - Izzy visibly the most excited of their group. It was the arrival of Matt, TK, Patamon, and Gabumon's group that shocked them all when they saw Leomon walking behind them. They were all naturally weary of the digimon but listened to TK vouch for him, "It's okay! He's on our side now!"

"If you say so," Sora glanced sideways at Biyomon, who also stole a sideways glance at her.

"Leomon said he had information to share with us," Matt explained, "About the black gears and why we're here."

"We do as well," Izzy began excitedly, "We met a digimon named Centarumon and he told us the gears are all over the island! That's why we keep running into digimon affected by them. They're everywhere! He also mentioned that they're old! Really old! He couldn't saw how long but he confirmed that they were artificial, not a natural part of the island's design!"

"Calm down," Gabumon hushed him, "I'm not following any of that. Start again, slowly."

Izzy reexplained everything he'd just said, but tried to keep from going off on tangents and stopping every so often to answer their questions. After he'd said his fill, the others looked to Leomon to elaborate.

"Yes, it's true," Leomon confirmed, "The black gears on this very island are old and can be practically considered a part of the Digital World."

"That confirms what Centarumon told us," Palmon added. Seeing the quizzical looks on the others faces, she added, "Centarumon was a digimon we met guarding a temple that was made for those digivices. He said they were made as a last line of defense against the dark but couldn't elaborate more."

Leomon took a seat by the mouth of the cave and explained, "No, he wouldn't. There aren't many digimon left from when the temple was built. The few who are alive aren't around anymore - they've gone into hiding, or have fallen to slumber, or don't want anything more to do with us."

Leomon went out to sit under a nearby tree and motioned for them to join him. The group took a seat in a circle around him, listening intently to every word. Naturally, Izzy retrieved his laptop and began jotting down everything Leomon said, "I don't know if it was a prophecy, a legend, or just a story that was made up. This prophecy foretells that a time would come when peril would befall the Digital World. In these dark times, a group of children would come to our world and restore balance by driving back the dark. They would be known by their digivices which gave digimon the ability to digivolve to higher forms. They are the chosen children, sometimes called the digidestined. They would be the saviors of our world."

"Yeah, Centarumon said something like that," Mimi smiled, hugging Palmon, "And I'll show anyone who tries to hurt Palmon what for!"

"I can't say no to helping out our friends," Sora added, "But that story sounds a little vague. Does the peril and darkness refer to Devimon, right?"

"To be honest, all this vague prophecy stuff sounds stupid," Matt chimed in, earning him a disapproving gaze from Leomon, "Don't you have anything specific to tell us? Like where to find Devimon? We beat him and we get to go home, right?"

"Devimon resides at the peak of Infinity Mountain at the center of the island. It's known as File Island," Leomon answered, "But defeating him will not restore balance. There are greater dangers to this world than anything Devimon can throw at you. He's what you might call a pawn or a soldier."

"Pawn? You mean like in chess?" Joe and Izzy looked at each other, already disliking this news they'd been given. Their partners all confusedly asked, "What's chess?"

"I'll tell you guys later," Sora waved them off, "So if Devimon's a pawn, who else is out there?"

"Devimon is the most active of the ones I'm aware of," Leomon shrugged, "There was Etemon, but supposedly he went off to focus on a career as a rock star. There's also Datamon, but nobody has seen him in years. The vampire Myotismon is around as well, but he hasn't done anything recently. Myotismon just stays in his castle. If I had to guess, he's preparing for something."

"And these guys are in charge of Devimon?" Matt crossed his arms, continuing to express frustration, "Are you sure the Digital World needs saving? I mean, Devimon sounds like he's acting out since his bosses are either stuck in a fantasy world, doing nothing, or just not around."

"They're not his bosses. They're soldiers like him," Leomon clarified, earning him Matt's attention, "I don't know who his masters are. But I do know that Devimon can be considered the least dangerous when compared to the others."

"That's what the kid with the goggles said," Gomamon remarked, "That there were guys out there worse than Devimon."

They all went quiet and looked at Gomamon. Then to Sora, Joe, and Biyomon. Each had questions they wanted to ask, but so many flew through their heads that they didn't know which to ask first. Except Leomon, who calmly remarked, "Ah, so I see he's still alive."

"Yeah, he and Agumon were the reason we were able to save Joe and Sora!" Biyomon added.

"When were you going to mention that part?" asked everyone who was not in their group. Sora and Joe threw up their hands defensively, "We were going to get to it eventually."

"Oh, so you encountered him before?" Leomon asked. Mimi nodded, "Yeah! they totally saved us when Devimon trapped us in a manor."

"Before he blew it up," Matt added.

"Yeah, about that," Gomamon started nervously, "He said they were distracting someone by drawing their attention, whatever that means. To be honest, I think they're crazy. I don't know anyone who could so casually kill another digimon like that."

"He did?" Mimi's mouth fell open. Biyomon was the one to explain, "His partner killed a Bakemon before they let us out."

"Hmm, so he's still continuing the fight after all that time," Leomon sighed, a pleased look in his eyes. They all looked at Leomon, surprised that he completely overlooked the death of another digimon so passively. Izzy was the first to ask, "Leomon, do you know anything about them? All we have to work off is the guy's name. He called himself Digimon Tamer."

"Yes, I've met them a few times. The Tamer and Agumon were always together. We travelled together as well, but only briefly. They were always on the move - running from some enemy. They would help out where they could, but they never stayed long and always moved on. Then, they just vanished. No sign of them. Personally? I always feared that the stories were wrong about the chosen children, because with him it seemed like chosen child was more accurate," Leomon frowned, "And to be honest, I figured we were doomed if he was the only one. To disappear for so long could only have meant they were dead."

"So you agree, they're crazy!" Gomamon pointed out.

"I imagine they would be. You don't fight enemies like Devimon for so long without going a little crazy," Leomon shrugged dismissively.

"How long? No one's given us an exact time frame," Izzy stated, "Meramon guessed he died of old age. But that would mean he'd been here for a long time, right?"

"Well, I haven't seem him in over a hundred years, so I guess he might have aged a little," Leomon's answer had all of them gasping in surprise. Even Izzy stopped typing to stare in disbelief, prompting Leomon to ask, "Is that weird?"

"My grandma's eighty and she doesn't look anywhere as young as he does!" TK shouted out loud.

"Humans don't live that long," Joe mumbled, "Are you sure you don't have a weird calendar? Maybe your years are different? Are you sure you don't mean months or weeks?"

"No, it's years. A hundred and forty-five now that I think about it," Leomon quietly added. They each had a tumult of questions running through their minds, but Izzy was the first to speak out, "Wait, how old are you?"

"That's a bit personal. If you want to know, I'm about a thousand," Leomon answered nonchalantly. They all stared slack jawed, "You're really a thousand years old?"

"And looking good aren't I?" Leomon beat his chest proudly. The digimon nodded their agreement but the children were less forth coming. Mimi remarked, "We can't exactly judge. Although the muscles really sell the idea that your less than a thousand."

"That doesn't really matter," Izzy interrupted, "For now, we should focus on climbing Infinity Mountain and defeating Devimon."

"And how do we that? He hasn't exactly been easy to fight," Gomamon's voice contained a hint of uncharacteristic resignation, "Don't forget what happened in the manor. And if being able to beat him means we have to be like Tamer and Agumon, then forget it."

"Actually, since you brought it up, Centarumon said the digivices were preservers of light. And Tamer said that he could use his digivice to purify the black gears," Izzy began, "With that in mind, it's safe to assume that we can do the same thing with ours."

"Matt and TK already did! That's how they were able to save me," Leomon motioned to the two brothers, "Without them, I would still be under the control of the black gears."

"Well, he used it to blow up a house so I guess stopping black gears shouldn't be surprising," Joe bemoaned their fortunes, "So how did you guys do it?"

"I dunno," TK shrugged. Matt's own answer was less helpful, "Leomon was about to kill me when the digivice activated."

"But the digivices never did that before, so what changed?" Sora asked, "There's not much point in having them if we don't know how to use them."

"Well we were always able to digivolve when you were in danger! So maybe it's the same idea," Biyomon offered happily, "It protects you when you're in danger."

"What about that time Shellmon tried to crush me? Or when we were all trapped by Monzaemon's heart bubbles?"

Biyomon crossed her wings and thought deeply, "That's a good point."

"Well we better figure it out soon," Matt remarked, "Devimon is still out there and there's no telling when he'll show up again."

"Hey guys, it was morning a little bit ago, right?" Gomamon asked. Every last one of them looked around and noticed the world around them had become dark, but it was too soon for night fall.

"Clouds, maybe?" Izzy looked up, and the sight meeting them was not something any of them were prepared to see. A swarm of black gears silently whizzing overhead so large that it practically blackened the skies. In the center of the swarm was Devimon looming over them silently with his wings outstretched.

"It's Devimon!" TK shrieked, prompting everyone to stand up.

"Was he just sitting there watching us?" Palmon asked.

"The evidence is really piling up," Mimi added, "He's a creep."

"Well, here goes nothing!" Matt pointed his digivice up at Devimon, waiting for the light to burst forth and drive the gears away. He was disappointed when nothing happened but not surprised. An amused smile crossed Devimon's face as he waved his hand and the black gears gathered around him - then struck Devimon. Watching Devimon attack himself with the gears surprised them, but not as much as watching him grow with each gear permeating his body.

"Uh, guys - what's happening?" Gomamon asked.

"He's absorbing the black gears and growing bigger," Leomon exclaimed, to which Gomamon asked, "I can see that. How is it happening?"

"I'm all for learning more about the Digital World - especially if it means knowing how he's doing that. But right now I think attack would be the best course of action," Izzy declared. Leomon nodded, "Agreed."

"Tentomon?"

Tentomon buzzed ahead of them, "I'm on it!"

"Biyomon! You too!" Sora said to her partner. Biyomon and Tentomon flew straight for Devimon, disappearing into balls of light and reemerging as their stronger forms.

"Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

"Tentomon! Digivolve to! Kabuterimon!"

The two flying digimon tackled Devimon in the air, and bounced off him like he was rubber. Absorbing the black gears appeared to make him stronger as well as larger, which only spelled bad news for them since there were still more black gears for him to absorb. The ground beneath them shook violently, crumbling away for more black gears to join Devimon. Birdramon and Kabuterimon flew out of their path, trying to destroy as many as they could. Some gears were destroyed, but it was clear that there were more than they could possibly hope to overcome.

"Matt!" Gabumon called out to his partner, snapping him out of his stupor, "Huh? Oh right!"

"Mimi! We should help too!" Palmon nudged Mimi.

"Are you ready Gomamon?" Joe asked.

All three digimon ran in to help, swallowed by the light of their partner's digivices.

"Gabumon! Digivolve to! Garurumon!"

"Palmon! Digivolve to! Togemon!"

"Gomamon! Digivolve to! Ikakumon!"

Their three partners fired off their attacks into the air, aiming at either the black gears or at Devimon. The kids cheered with each black gears they destroyed but another one always appeared to replace it. It didn't take long for them to realize that their attacks meant nothing against the endless number, so they instead focused on attacking Devimon. Their attacks did nothing to harm him and he continued to absorb more of the black gears. Leomon joined the fray with his sword in hand, "Devimon! This ends here."

Leomon's movements were agile and fluid, leaping up along the side of the tree before using one last good jump at Devimon. Just as he was about to strike the ever growing demon, he was intercepted by Ogremon. The two traded blows in the air before knocking each other away and landing face to face. Leomon growled, "Ogremon! Stand aside! I must aid the digidestined and stop Devimon."

Ogremon scoffed, "Years of fighting each other and you'd rather fight Devimon instead of me? I ought to kill you in jealous rage. In fact-"

The two charged towards each other and locked weapons. The two swung their weapons back and forth, each trying to out do the other to no avail. When their weapons locked again, Leomon pleaded, "You realize that if Devimon wins, our world is doomed!"

"That may be a bad thing for you, but those loyal to Devimon like me will be spared!" Ogremon cackled delightfully, taunting Leomon. Angered, Leomon pushed Ogremon away and charged for Devimon again. And again, Ogremon leapt to intercept Leomon and brush him aside. The two resumed trading blows, leaving the six kids and their partners to fight Devimon alone.

The skies cleared with the last of the gears disappearing into Devimon's body. At his full size, he stood at equal height with the mountain beside them. The demon gazed down at them with his teeth bared, "I didn't want things to come this far! I don't have a choice this time. I will not die!"

Devimon brought his massive hand down upon the children and split the ground open. Matt and TK were separated from the others by the chasm Devimon created. Sora, Joe, Mimi and Izzy called out to the two brothers but were too far away to be heard.

"Matt!" Garurumon shouted out from across the divide, separated from and unable to protect his partner. Patamon flew across the gap to join the two brothers in his stead. In spite of his small size, he bravely roared out, "I'll protect them!"

Birdramon and Kabuterimon went to join him but were flicked aside by Devimon's hand. Patamon, because of his smaller size, was much harder to hit and crossed the gap to join them. Devimon focused his attention on the two brothers and Patamon, "Only one needs to die. The smallest is foretold to be the one to defeat me. But the prophecy can not be fulfilled if you die."

Devimon reached out for them. Matt moved his little brother behind him and threw out his arms to shield him, "Stay away from my brother you creep!"

Seeing them in danger, the other three digimon fired a volley of their attacks at Devimon. Blue flames, a flurry of needles, and waves of explosives impacted on Devimon's massive body. He barely registered their attacks and glimpsed them from the corner of his eye, "I don't have time to deal with you. Let my gears and servants entertain you."

With a snap of his fingers, several of the gears dispersed from his body into the surrounding forest. They were al puzzled on why Devimon did this, until they witnessed the scores of digimon emerging from the forest around them - Kuwagamon, Unimon, Meramon, and more began to appear. Ikakumon, Garurumon, and Togemon went to fight the digimon but were at the disadvantage. Some of these digimon were their friends and they couldn't bring themselves to harm them. But the digimon had no control over their actions, only Devimon's will. Kabuterimon and Birdramon were forced back onto their feet to help the others deal with the attackers - leaving the brothers with Patamon.

TK suppressed a gasp when Matt drew his pocket knife behind his pocket and hid it behind his back. He understood what Matt was planning to do and looked to Patamon for help. Patamon looked back just as helplessly. Devimon's hand was massive - he could crush them between his fingers if he wanted. It was just a matter of time.

"Now perish," Devimon cackled while wrapping his giant fingers wrapped around them. Just as he closed his grip, Matt stabbed his knife in Devimon's palm and he pulled away screaming, "You little-"

Devimon massaged his injured hand and winced at them. He waved his other hand and a tumult of black gears came for them. Matt took TK by the hand and ran away with Patamon following closely. They could hear the others shouting at them to keep running out of harm's way. But no amount of running put distance between them and the gears. With each step they took, the gears came closer. When the gears were just inches away, Matt grabbed Patamon and TK - pushing them to the ground and shielding them with his body. The air roared with of the deafening sound of the gears buzzing past. TK quietly squeezed Patamon between his arms hoping that this would all be over. That he would wake up and he'd still be in the manor, or the cave, or somewhere in the forest. Matt and Patamon would be okay. The others would be fine too. He wanted it all to stop. He prayed and hoped over the thunderous roar of the gears.

When the sound of the gears died down, TK opened his eyes to see his older brother staring down at him, "Hey buddy. Are you alright?"

"Yeah…Patamon?"

"I'm okay," Patamon said. TK was momentarily reassured before Matt suddenly found himself in Devimon's hand, "Whoa! TK! TK!"

"Matt!" he called out to his brother, watching helplessly as Devimon threw the older brother across the gap towards the others. The force of the fall would have killed him if Kabuterimon hadn't caught him in the air. The little boy breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that his brother would be safe. That relief turned to dread when he remembered he and Patamon were alone now. Devimon eyed the two of them with pure glee that made his intentions clear. They knew he was going to kill them, but now they understood that he was going to take his time doing so. He was going to enjoy every moment of it, and the thought made both of them shrink away in fear. Why was he doing this? What had they ever done to him.

"Now there's no one left to stand in my way," Devimon cackled, "You will die here boy. You and your partner, prophecy be damned!"

In that moment of despair, TK and Patamon were of one mind. Patamon may have been brave, but it counted for little against Devimon. He was too strong, easily separating the two of them from the others. Birdramon and Kabuterimon were trying to cross the gap to help, but were being interrupted by both Unimon and Kuwagamon. TK looked to his partner, and Patamon looked back. Patamon knew that he was all that was left to protect TK, he just didn't know how he would be able to. If only he could digivolve he might be able to protect TK, like the angel in the painting - the guardians who protect.

Devimon brought his giant hand down on them like a swatter to insects. Patamon went to his partner, "TK I'll protect you!"

There was a thunderous crash and then silence. Matt stared in utter horror at his little brother - or where his brother was. Fear, anger, sorrow. It swelled up inside him and burst out in one loud scream - a wail so animalistic that it couldn't be called human. For him and the others, everything had come to a stand still.

Then there was light and the familiar whistling hum of the digivice. They all heard it and understood right away. The smirk on Devimon's face turned to panic as he pulled his hand away, "No! No! No! No!"

"Patamon! Digivolve to! Angemon!"

The soft glow of light permeated around them. The light was so bright that the rest of the world around them darkened before it. The light spread around them, driving black gears out of the possessed digimon and collapsing them to the ground. Their digimon partners stepped away from their would be enemies, and turned to see the spectacle before them. The only one unaffected was Ogremon, who shielded himself from the light with his arms and growled, "Uh oh. Time to go!"

"Come back here! Coward!" Leomon shouted after the fleeing digimon.

"We'll settle our score another time Leomon! I'll be back! Just you wait!" Ogremon shouted back. Leomon grunted his disapproval, then noticed the light around him. Like the others, he looked to the source of the light and found himself gazing in awe.

The light came from a tall man with white clothing beneath flowing blue robes and shining golden pauldrons. He had long flowing blonde hair running down his back that disappeared into a helmet that covered the upper half of his face. Most remarkable were the six white feathery wings from his back and the golden staff he wielded firmly in his hand.

"He's alright!" Matt remarked, spotting his little brother safe and unharmed.

"He sure is pretty," Mimi mouthed.

"I had no idea Patamon had it in him," Joe watched.

"Prodigious," Izzy said.

"Cool," Sora added.

"I want to take him home with me," TK could be heard saying, paralyzed by the form his partner took. As impressive as the newly digivolved digimon was, Angemon couldn't possibly be strong enough to stand against someone the size of Devimon, yet Devimon cowed away, "It's not supposed to be this way."

"Devimon, your actions have brought harm to this island and all who live here. I shall bring it peace by destroying you!" Angemon declared, raising his staff above his head. The light of Angemon's body brought the digivices to life, filling the air with high pitched whistles and shrieks. Light burst from their digivices and joined together at Angemon's staff. Seven beams of light, all coming together. As he drew on the light, the others realized that their partners were regressing back to their normal forms, "I will borrow the light of the others and use their combined strength to strike you down."

"Do you know who I am?" Devimon roared, "I am Devimon! Lord of this island and ruler over all its inhabitants! I defy my fate and I will not bow to my end! Only I decide my time and I will not die! Do you hear me! I will destroy you!

"Your fate has already been decided. If protecting the lives of others means my own, then its a price I will gladly pay," Angemon called out in a loud voice. His staff and the light shrank into his hand and it came aflame with brilliant light.

"Angemon!" TK called out worriedly.

"You know nothing, so you understand nothing! After coming so far, I will not be stopped! This is not DIE!" Devimon winded his massive back and threw it forward. The fire on Angemon's hand burned hotter and brighter than before. He thrust it forward and struck Devimon's larger fist. When the two met, a wave of light blinded them all and all that could be heard was Angemon's voice, "Hand of Fate!"

When the light faded, they could see both Angemon and Devimon standing against each other in the air, their bodies degrading to dust like Devimon's gears. Devimon looked down at his body and started to laugh. His laugh was hollow, full of desperation instead of joy. Through his cackles, he managed to mock Angemon, "I've died! So my fate was unavoidable! But you used all your might to defeat me, so now you can't protect anyone else ever again! You idiot! You're of no use to anyone now!"

"My life is unimportant, if it means your defeat," Angemon said passively. As Devimon faded to dust, he left them with parting words, "You truly are pathetic Angemon, and a fool. Your friends needed you to defeat me. ME! So how will they last against the others? Those far worse and stronger than anything I could do. How long are they for this world? You've won the battle, but guaranteed you've lost the war!"

Devimon laughed to the very end, even past his own disintegration until it faded all together. Angemon held on a little longer, just long enough for TK to call out to his partner, "Angemon! Don't go! Please!"

"I'm sorry, TK," Angemon gave a smile with his apology, "I'm done. Someday, I'll return. If you want me to."

Angemon faded away, leaving a few stray feathers gently blowing with the wind. TK continued to plea and beg for him to stay. Then he begged for him to come back. Tears welled up in his eyes and snot ran down his nose when he finally broke out crying. Matt's instinct as an older brother kicked in and he tapped Sora, "Can you have Biyomon get me over there?"

"Yeah!" Sora aimed her digivice at Biyomon and she digivolved back to Birdramon. They all rode on her back to the other side, except for Leomon who was too heavy and instead used his own skill to leap across. Matt ran to his little brother as soon as they landed to comfort him. The others looked up at where Angemon used to be, still coming to terms with what they'd witnessed. Angemon gave everything to defeat Devimon.

Everything.

The thought had occurred to them in the past, how easily the same fate could befall their partners. But the reality finally sank in after they watched Angemon. Mimi hugged Palmon, trying to hold back tears of her own out of fear that the same thing could happen to her. Joe nudged Gomamon and mumbled something. Sora put a hand on her partner's large frame and thanked her for being safe. Izzy was the most stoic, simply patting Tentomon on the head.

"I want Angemon back! I want Patamon back! Bring him back!" TK wailed. Matt squeezed his little brother tight without saying a word. He couldn't say it would be alright. He didn't know if it would be. All he could do was hug his brother and allow him to cry until he calmed down. Angemon was gone. Patamon was gone. He wanted to do whatever he could to make it right and calm his brother down. But what could he do?

Leomon stepped in to offer his own condolences, "I'm sorry for your friend. But he fought bravely and gave everything to protect you. His death was und-"

He was promptly nudged in the rib by Mimi, who shot him a deathly glare. Leomon understood immediately and he went quiet.

An idea came to mind, flickering the tiniest glimmer of hope. It was so energizing that Matt could only verbalize it, "Primary Village."

TK's cries stopped and he whimpered, "What?"

"Gabumon! Can you take us to Primary Village?" Matt asked. TK latched onto the same idea right away, "Gabumon! We have to go! Please take us!"

"Oh! Right!" Gabumon's mood lifted, "Yes! Let's go!"

Matt used his digivice to digivolve Gabumon into Garurumon, and the two brothers quickly started mounting him.

"I see," Leomon mused, "It wouldn't hurt to go look. Fate was on your side today, after all. Maybe it'll smile on you one more time. "

"What's going on? What are you talking about?" Sora demanded of the two brothers, who were already climbing on to Birdramon's back, "I'll explain later! Let's just go!"

"Go where?" Izzy asked.

"Just follow us!" Matt said. Garurumon let out a roar and took off into the forest, leaving the rest of them behind. Realizing they were being left behind, they all quickly piled back onto Birdramon.

"Leomon, will you be coming with us?" Sora asked the lion digimon.

"No, I should go after Ogremon. Who knows what he'll do now that Devimon is gone. Whatever evil he plans to get up to, someone should stop him," Leomon stated. He bowed his head to the children, "You have my thanks for what you've done today. And good luck to your friends."

"Thanks!" Sora said. They waved their good byes while Birdramon kicked off the ground and took to the skies. Garurumon was already far ahead of them, and they gave pursuit. He ran faster than they'd ever seen him move and Birdramon had difficulty keeping pace. They followed Garurumon until the ground was replaced by fabric and the trees turned to giant wooden blocks. Further ahead, they saw a massive field covered in eggs as far as the eye could see. Garurumon stopped at the edge of the field to let Matt and TK down. Birdramon touched down beside them and allowed the others off her back. TK was already running frantically among the eggs, calling out his partner's name, "PATAMON! PATAMON!"

"Okay, what was the big rush?" Joe demanded of Matt, "You three just took off without explaining anything. What is this place and why are we here?"

"Primary Village," Matt said, "This is where we ran into Leomon. It's supposed to be the place where digimon are reborn after they die."

"So you think Patamon is here?" Palmon looked around at all the eggs while TK continued to shout, "Patamon!"

"He has to be. For TK's sake," Matt mumbled, going off to help TK find his brother.

"Hang on, I'll help look!" Mimi went after them.

"Me too!" Palmon added. Birdramon regressed back to Biyomon and collapsed to the ground, "I think I'm going to take a nap."

"Go ahead. You fought and flew all us over here," Sora brushed her hand against Biyomon's feathers, "I'll look doubly hard for both of us."

"Well, what do you suppose?" Joe looked at Izzy, "Do you think Patamon is here somewhere?"

"We won't find out anything just by sitting here," Izzy responded, "Besides, a wealth of information is sitting in front of me about the digimon life cycle! I can't turn something like this down."

"Izzy, we're here for Patamon," Tentomon reminded him. Izzy shrugged but agreed, "Right. Patamon first, then information."

"There is one thing, though," Joe said, "If Patamon can come back, isn't there a chance that Devimon could too?"

"He better not," Matt growled loud enough for Joe and Tentomon to flinch, "If I find Devimon's egg, I'll smash it myself."

They were all unnerved by Matt's words, but none of them were sure they'd stop him if he tried. Their group split up and wandered the field in search of Patamon amidst all of the eggs. Each took the time to inspect the eggs carefully, hoping they'd stumble upon the one housing Patamon. Without any actual clue of what to look for, their search proved a fruitless endeavor and they were unable to find anything. TK especially was ready to give up hope and burst out crying again, until Elecmon arrived, "Oh, you're back. I was wondering when you'd show up. And you brought friends."

"Elecmon! Have you seen Patamon! Have you?" TK asked desperately, "Please say you've seen him!"

"As a matter of fact, I believe he is what you're looking for," Elecmon produced an egg with white and yellow stripes, "This egg showed up a little while ago, after that earthquake and all the flashing lights in the sky. I recognized it as that friend of yours and thought I should keep it safe."

"Your recognized Patamon even though he's an egg?" Joe questioned, "I mean, how are we supposed to believe that?"

"I see you're friends have the exact same manners you do," Elecmon remarked, "That is your friend, Patamon. If you don't want him, you can always give him back."

"It's Patamon," TK stated, hugging the egg close, "I can feel it."

"How?" Joe demanded again, "I'm not trying to ruin the moment. How exactly can you know that egg is Patamon?"

As if on cue, the egg cracked open and bits of shell sprayed around them. A little white blob with little dots for eyes poked out of the cracked shell and cooed at TK. The little boy cracked a smile at the little creature, "Hi Patamon!"

"Hang on, that's Patamon?" Sora remarked. The little gelatinous blob bobbed up and down at the sound of her voice and giggled uncontrollably. TK hugged the little creature close, a sight that made the others awe in adoration.

"Actually, that's Poyomon!" Elecmon corrected.

"Aha! So it's not Patamon!" Joe pointed out. Elecmon popped an eyebrow and added, "He's a fresh level digimon. His In-training form is Tokomon and, given time, he will digivolve to his rookie form as Patamon."

"So he's not the same Patamon," Joe pressed the matter, "This could be another digimon that just becomes Patamon. Like when you break a toy and just get a new one."

"Tee-Kay!" the little blob cooed, bringing TK to excitedly remark, "He remembers me!"

"Stronger digimon remember their old lives," Elecmon reminded them. After witnessing Angemon singlehandedly defeat Devimon, none of them had their doubts about how strong Patamon was. Joe was the only one who remained unconvinced, "I still have my doubts."

"Joe! S-Stick! In! M-mu-mud!" the little Poyomon struggled with the words but managed to mouth them out eventually.

"Well, I guess that's settled," Mimi folded her arms with a giggle.

"Oh come on! That's what he remembers?" Joe moaned. Gomamon laughed, "He has your number Joe!"

"Prodigious!" Izzy gleamed excitedly, retrieving his laptop to start typing up the information, "Information on both the reproductive processes as well as past life cognition!"

"Is there something wrong with your friend? He's talking funny," Elecmon motioned to Izzy.

"There's nothing wrong with him. That's just how he is," Tentomon defended his partner, who was already approaching Elecmon, "Excuse me Elecmon. If you have a minute, I'd love to ask you questions about raising children and reproduction here in the Digital World."

"At least you're polite," Elecmon nodded, "I'll answer your questions as best as I can, just ask them without those big words of yours."

"Deal," Izzy smiled excitedly. Just before he could start, the ground beneath them shook. A small metal device broke through the felt fabric beneath them and hummed to life. Everyone backed away as light burst forth from the device and it made a few buzzing noises. An image appeared - the boy with fiery hair and goggles in his white cloak. Beside him was Agumon looking puzzled. Oddly, both of them were standing in the hands raised over their heads.

"It's him!" Sora called out, "It's that Tamer kid!"

The one thing that stood out was that they both looked nervous, and stepped backwards anxiously while a voice asked, "There ain't nowhere to run now, kid! Uh huh! Where are the humans?"

…

 **Author's Notes:** That's all for tonight, dear readers! My next update will be in one week on Friday, December 18th. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism. See you next week!


	9. Departure

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Nine for nine! And on schedule! But what are you doing here? Star Wars came out! Go watch that! But not before reading this! As before, I'm now handling review responses directly as opposed to in the author's notes. Okay, let's start the Tamer.

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 9: Departure**

"Humans?" Tamer asked, "Agumon, do you know what he's talking about?"

"Nope," Agumon answered, "Don't know any."

"The other humans! The one's who just killed Devimon!" the voiced asked, "And don't try any of your games. I saw the light leave your digivice and your partner de-digivolve. You're practically defenseless!"

"Oh, he's dead? Awesome, that means the communications network should be cleared up and I can finally make a call! I'm definitely ordering take out! Oh, he didn't trip over a brick, by the way, did he? Sorry, I don't mean to be rude. Agumon and I just have a bet going," Tamer rambled, "If his death is brick related, then he has to buy me a ramen bowl. If it's flight related, I have to buy him some sushi. But, if it's a mix of both - like he trips over a brick as he's about to fly, then we agreed to split a pizza."

"The HUMANS! Where are they?" the voice demanded.

"The coordinates are 0.435 degrees north by 32.65 degrees west, on the continent of Server, approximately 200 miles west," the Tamer said aloud.

"Hmm. Those are our coordinates," the voice mulled, "So they're west of us...wait one darn minute, that's the ocean!"

"Is it? My mistake," the Tamer said, "I just wanted to be sure everyone was clear about where we are. It's 0.435 degrees north by 32.65 degrees west. On the continent of Server. Two hundred miles west."

"I know where we are! Where are they?" the voice demanded, "I had to put my music career on hold for this! You better tell me where they are! I miss hearing the screams of the fans!"

"Were they tied to their chairs and forced to listen?" Tamer asked, earning a snicker from Agumon.

"Answer the question!" The voice repeated.

"Maybe you should write it down," Tamer said. Realization dawned on Izzy and he started, typing away on his laptop as the Tamer said again, "Server, 200 miles west, 0.435 north by 32.65 west. Maybe if I say it slower. You might forget. Server, 200 miles west."

"Do you have a screw lose?" the voice asked, "What are you doing? Hey! Are you listening? You! What is he doing?"

"I've been with him for a long time so believe me, he has a lot more than a screw lose," Agumon answered.

"Not a computer called a server. The continent of Server. And the numbers are coordinates. This isn't a math problem," the Tamer continued. He lowered his hands and started fiddling with his older digivice, "Here. Let me send you a map. If you get lost, just remember the sun rises in the east and sets in the wes-"

A fist came into view and punched the Tamer in the gut, knocking the wind out of him and bringing him to his knees. Everyone gasped and Agumon helped him back onto his feet. The voice demanded much more angrily, "SHUT UP! I've had enough of this. Answer my question!"

Tamer remained silent and the voice agitatedly shouted, "I said answer my question!"

Tamer pointed to whoever was talking, then to himself, then pressed his finger to his lips. Exasperated, the voice groaned, "You sarcastic little…I meant shut up then! Not now! Talk! Now!"

"Football is an international sport recognized by-"

"I meant about what I just asked!" the voice screamed.

Tamer perked his head up with a goofy smile, "I couldn't hear you over your accent. What bugs me most is you have a Tennessee accent. Which is weird because, if you really think about it, you've neither heard of nor been to Tennessee. It's a place that you can't possibly know exists. So how did you get their local accent? You've never been."

"Maybe he's a stalker?" Agumon asked.

There was an audible growl and the image faded just as a figure stepped into view, seemingly attacking the Tamer and Agumon. They could only glimpse the figure for a second but they could plainly make out a tail, orange skin, and what looked like a tuft of hair. Everyone stared at the device projecting the image, curious as to where it came from and how it worked. It buzzed loudly and it puffed smoke to indicate it was broken. With what they'd seen, they could only conclude that the two were in trouble and needed help.

"Izzy, you got all that down right?" Sora asked. He nodded with a thumbs up, "Server, 0.435 by 32.65! Go west two hundred miles. And I think that map was meant for me because it's on my computer now."

He rotated his laptop to show them the screen, which now displayed a large map. One side of the map was completely dominated by a large mass of land marked Server. Just off its coast was a smaller speck of land marked File Island. There were two blinking dots - one on the island and the other on the continent.

"Well, that's helpful," Matt commented.

"Yeah, but it means we'll have to cross the ocean," Joe said, "How are we supposed to do that?"

"I can carry you all on my back," Gomamon raised his hand excitedly.

"For two hundred miles?" Joe asked, sinking Gomamon's spirits, "I was just trying to be helpful."

"I know, but we have to be practical about this. That's a lot of distance to cover. Not to mention getting provisions like food and water," Joe added, "Who knows how long of a journey that could be? We'll need enough food and water. Which means finding a way to store enough fresh water, and food that won't spoil. Then there's the issue of making a boat sea worthy enough to cross. I hate to say it, but a raft couldn't possibly survive a trip of that distance. Also, where are we going to get enough supplies to even build a ship? We'll need wood, rope, rocks to balance the ship for buoyancy, fabric or something similar to make the sails. And who knows what else."

Joe realized they were all staring at him with their mouths wide open. Unnerved, Joe asked, "What?"

"You came up with that so fast," Matt acknowledged.

"I was thinking of a way for us to get off the island," Joe said, "I just never said anything because there's the question of how far we are from dry land, or if the currents will end up pushing us back to the island. Or worse, they'll push out into open water."

"It's just…it's like you've given this a lot of thought," Sora gasped.

"Well someone has to think about our survival," Joe folded his arms.

"Joe has a point," Izzy agreed, "We do need to come up with a plan if we're going to leave the island."

"Hold on! Am I the only wondering how this kid traveled over 200 miles in just a few days? We literally saw him a few days ago. How did he make it that far?" Matt interrupted, "Besides, how are we supposed to know that video is real. It could be a fake. Devimon could control other digimon. Whose to say there aren't other digimon that can fake a video like that?"

"I agree with Matt," Gabumon added, "Besides, what will happen if one of us…dies. It won't be easy to make it back here."

"I think we should go," TK said, surprising the others. The little boy hugged his blob of a partner, "They helped us before. Back in the manor, when Devimon nearly got us. We got out safely because of them. All of us. It's only fair that we do the same and help them, right?"

"Right! Right!" Poyomon repeated happily, bouncing in his hands. Gomamon shifted uncomfortably, "I don't really like them. They're both crazy. And rude. But we wouldn't be any better if we left them hanging when they needed us."

"Plus, we need to return the favor for when they helped us," Biyomon added.

"Mimi?" Palmon tugged at her partner's skirt. Mimi tipped up her hat, "We're supposed to be heroes or prophecy, like what Centarumon and Leomon said. I think we should start trying to live up to that hero part."

"Alright!" Palmon cheered.

"So we're just going to ignore all that stuff I said about building a boat?" Joe reminded them.

"We'll figure something out," Gomamon assured him, "It's more fun don't you think?"

"I think we really should focus more on survival than saving the world at this point," Joe countered.

"Well, we defeated a giant demon digimon and saved an entire island," Sora added, "So I think we're doing alright on the whole saving the world part."

"Izzy! You agree with me on this right?" Joe asked. Izzy was still typing information on his laptop, then casually looked up, "Oh, sorry. I was making some notes about that apparatus that projected the image of Tamer and Agumon. What were you saying?"

"That this is a bad idea."

"I disagree. If Tamer has been here for as long as Leomon says, he might know a way back to our world or have some clues to finding one," Izzy postulated, "That includes information on who the dangers to the Digital World are."

"Come on Joe!" Mimi tugged at his hand, "Don't you want to be a pal and help out someone in trouble?"

Both their stomachs growled loudly at the same time, and everyone struggled to hold in their laughter. Matt patted them both on the back and joked, "Maybe we should take a minute to eat something first."

"That's a plan I think we can all agree on," Tentomon waved his claw in the air, "I am starving."

"I think this is the part where I'm supposed to wish you luck," Elecmon said, reminding them they were still in Primary Village. He waved them off, "But I'm not going to."

"Wow, and you call us rude?" Matt grumbled.

"I'm not going to because that digimon said Devimon was dead," Elecmon answered, "And all those lights and explosions can only mean that you had something to do with it. And there's one other thing. You might have missed it, but that digimon was afraid. To be honest, if you can make digimon like that afraid then you don't need luck. Take care of yourselves."

Elecmon returned to taking care of the new born digimon and their group left afterwards to get food. They made camp by a river, Gomamon hunted for fish for Matt to cook, and the others gathered whatever nuts and berries they could find in the forest. They ate to their heart's content that night, feeling for the first time that they were in no real danger. When night time settled in and the air got cold, Gabumon and Tentomon used their abilities to make a camp fire for them to keep warm.

"Okay, since we've all eaten, maybe now we can talk more seriously about going to Server," Matt began, "So let's start with a vote: who's okay with going to Server?"

"My vote is still to go," Mimi raised her hand. Palmon was right beside her, "Yeah, me too!"

"And me!" TK jumped in.

"Ditto," Izzy chimed in.

"And wherever Izzy goes, I go!" Tentomon raised his claw in the air.

"Might as well return the favor we owe them," Biyomon and Gomamon both raised their hands.

"Okay, and everyone opposed?" Matt asked, raising his own hand. Joe put his hand in the air too, "I still think this is a dangerous idea."

"I agree with Matt, this could be another trap," Gabumon raised his own paw.

They all looked at Sora, who was the only one to not vote at this point. She was gazing into the fire quietly, not noticing the others staring at her patiently. Biyomon patted her, "Sora, you haven't voted."

"Hm? Oh, sorry, I was just thinking," Sora embarrassedly laughed, "What are we voting on?"

"Whether or not we're going to Server," Matt repeated himself.

"Oh, then I vote to go to Server," Sora said, "I think we should help them out."

"Well, it's eight against three, I guess that means we're going," Izzy said cheerily. Joe's shoulders slumped while everyone else got excited. They decided to start work on building a boat in the morning. They didn't need to worry about Devimon or any digimon affected by the black gears, so they were all free to rest. And soon, everyone had turned in except Sora who continued to stay awake while gazing at the fire. She stayed deep in thought until Mimi rolled over on the ground to face her, "Are you still awake?"

"Yeah," Sora frowned.

"Okay, what's on your mind?" Mimi asked, joining her beside the fire.

"Nothing," Sora answered, making Mimi huff, "I don't know about the boys since they're kind of idiots when it comes to stuff like this but I am not. It's a girl's intuition. Besides, it's not healthy to keep all of this stuff in. It wrinkles your skin. So tell me what's on your mind, Sora."

Sora hesitated to talk, considering whether or not to actually say what was on her mind, "It was Tamer's face. We didn't get a good look back at the manor because it was dark and we were running for our lives. But then we had that image, that hologram from earlier. Maybe it's just me, but didn't he look familiar?"

"No, not really," Mimi shook her head. Sora cracked a weak smile, "It's probably just my imagination. I swear, I've seem him somewhere before. Before the manor I mean. It's like…when you run into someone you know, but you don't know how you know them or why. You just do. And it bugs you. Because it's like some part of you doesn't want to remember, even though you try really hard to."

"Well, you can ask him once we get there and rescue the two of them," Mimi patted her on the back, "If he's familiar to you, then you might be familiar to him. Besides, even if he doesn't know you, he'll definitely know a way back home."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Sora nodded, "Thanks Mimi."

"Any time! Just tell Mimi and she'll help you through all your problems! Ooh! I should get a radio show," Mimi rambled off. Sora laughed quietly, "Yeah you should."

"Anyway, don't stay up too late," Mimi nodded to her, "We have a long day tomorrow, building a boat and gathering supplies."

"Yeah, good night Mimi," Sora waved to her. Mimi rubbed her eyes and went back to sleep beside Palmon. Sora stayed awake just a little while longer, still dwelling on the question in mind before finally turning in herself. Answers would have to wait for whenever they rescued Tamer and Agumon.

…

They woke up bright and early the next morning, starting work beside a beach so that they wouldn't have to move the boat later on. Their digimon knocked down trees and turned it to lumber or rope for the boat. Izzy was overseeing the construction of the boat and the rest of the kids gathered anything they could for supplies. They had a harder time trying to figure out how to store any food they gathered to prevent it from spoiling. Joe, Izzy, Mimi, and TK were the only ones with bags and there certainly was no way for them to hold enough supplies to last a 200 mile trip across the sea.

It didn't help that progress was slow. They worked until mid day, then stopped for a break and to take stock of their work. They had enough to put together a makeshift raft which could hardly be considered sea worthy - but they still didn't have enough rope to tie the wood together to make the endeavor possible. A collective groan rang out - they knew it would take them a while to build a boat but it seemed like it would take an eternity at their current pace.

"Well, it's not like we're _all_ in a hurry to go," Matt commented at their pace.

"The longer it takes, the longer we're stuck here," Sora countered.

"And believe me, I wish we weren't," Matt said back, "I still don't like the idea of this whole thing."

"Wow Matt, when did you turn into Joe?" Sora asked him jokingly. He scoffed, "Around the time we decided to go help a kid whose idea of hello is telling us to 'run for our lives'. It still seems like a trap. How did he travel over 200 miles in a day? Who was that digimon who captured him? I mean, he and his partner both escaped Devimon. But not the one that captured them. And we barely beat Devimon so what chance do we have against a digimon like that?"

Before Sora could respond, the sound of stomps echoing from the forest could be heard and she froze up. The others gathered around with their digivices while their digimon ran out ahead of them to met the newcomer. They relaxed when they saw Leomon emerge from the forest with a serious expression on his face. He stopped just short of their group, took a look at all their work laid bare on the sand and began, "I heard from Elecmon that you were planning on going to Server. I thought I'd see if you needed a hand."

"You'll really help us?" TK asked excitedly.

"Of course, there are a few others who thought they should lend a hand," Leomon pointed behind him to another group of digimon. Centarumon with a set of logs under both arms, Meramon with a group of Yokomon carrying multiple boxes and sheets, and Elecmon dragging a set of bags across the ground. Leomon and Centarumon went about knocking down more trees, Meramon processed it into lumber, while Elecmon organized their supplies and the Yokomon tied together more rope. Once they had their supplies, they worked together to assemble something resembling a small life boat with a sail to push them with the wind. While they worked, Meramon quietly approached Izzy and Sora to ask, "Did you ever find the boy?"

"We think we did," Sora answered, "That's why we're going to Server. After we defeated Devimon, this hologram came out of the ground and we saw this kid - the Tamer. He looked like he was in trouble and he gave us coordinates."

Meramon grunted his reply, "I wouldn't be surprised if he blew something up."

"Well, since you mention it," Izzy began nervously, earning him a disgruntled sigh from Meramon, "I really shouldn't be surprised."

"Yeah, there wasn't much left of the building," Sora added, "We'll be sure to give him your regards next time though. We forgot last time since we were kinda running for our lives."

"Yes, that sounds like something that would involve him," Meramon's weary groan turned to a smile, "I'm just glad to know he's alive. That's enough for me. Thank you."

"Thank you for all your help," Sora smiled back, "We'd still be trying to get wood for this boat if you guys hadn't shown up."

They continued working on the boat, making sure that there were no leaks and that the force of the waves wouldn't break it apart. After loading it with the supplies provided by the Yokomon and Elecmon, they pushed out into the water to make sure it was sea worthy. It bobbed up down with the waves, creaking slightly. Once they were certain it wouldn't sink, the children and their digimon climbed aboard the raft - waving goodbye to the digimon that helped them.

"BYE!" Mimi shouted at them.

"Thanks for all the help!" Sora called out.

"Safe travels!" Leomon shouted back, "And good luck! Find Agumon and Tamer, and give them a hand."

Gomamon digivolved to Ikakumon to help guide them out to ocean beyond the waves. All the while, they continued to wave farewell to the digimon who helped them until they were out of the sight. Eventually, the island disappeared in the distance and all that could be seen was the gentle surface of the water. The wind picked up, and they dropped sail to gain speed.

…

The sound of retching and groans overtook Joe and he dropped chunks into crystal blue sea. It all sank into the ocean and the sea salt air helped overpower the smell, but they still had to deal with the sound which was enough to make them nauseous. Gomamon massaged his partner's back to help ease his stomach, "Gee Joe, I didn't know you got sea sick so easily."

Joe bobbed his head up and down with the motions of the waves, and they could plainly see how pale his face had turned. He retched yet again and threw up more of the food they'd snacked upon earlier.

"Where's is all that coming from?" Mimi asked, "Joe, were you hoarding food without telling us?"

"I'm…the…one who was…getting you guys…to…ration our food," Joe managed between retches, "Why would…I eat more than…I…"

He threw up yet again and everyone collectively backed away from him. Sora was the only one brave enough to pull some bottled water out of the supplies they'd been given and offer it to Joe. He stomached as much of it as he could, then it burst back out of its mouth worse than when it went down.

"Okay, maybe he shouldn't eat anything for a while," Matt considered. TK excitedly asked, "Can I have his share? I want the sweets!"

"Not if I have them first!" Mimi eyed the supplies hungrily.

"Guys, I was trying to help, not give away his rations," Matt scolded them. Glancing at the rations, he noticed Gabumon's face was buried into one of the open boxes and Matt angrily groaned, "Gabumon!"

"I'm not doing anything," Gabumon whimpered, "I just needed a change of scenery."

"It looks more like you're trying to eat Joe's rations," Sora put a hand to her hips and tried to pull Gabumon away, only for him to latch onto the mast as hard as he could. Sora tugged on him a few more times and Biyomon joined to help. Gabumon absolutely refused to let go, "No! No! No!"

Realizing something was amiss, Matt went to his partner and asked, "Gabumon, what's wrong? Hey! Gabumon, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Gabumon's voice wasn't very reassuring, "How about you?"

"Why are you freaking out Gabumon?" Matt asked, just as Joe retched again into the ocean. Watching Joe heave yet again from the constant rocking of the waves made him realize, "Gabumon, are you afraid of the water?"

"No."

"It's perfectly natural to be afraid of large bodies of water, given that we're on the ocean with no land in sight," Izzy said to them, holding his bag close and inching away from the water. Matt recalled Gabumon's own reaction to the bath, his refusal to get in and hugged his partner, "Hey, it's fine to be afraid. Being afraid is normal."

"Of water?" Palmon asked.

"Can you swim?" Matt asked sarcastically, a question that made Gabumon shake. Palmon took the hint and backed away while Matt continued to calm his partner, "Look, Palmon's an idiot."

"Hey!" Palmon protested.

"The important thing here is that we're right here beside you and we won't let the water get to you," Matt said to Gabumon. Gabumon ceased shaking and calmly answered, "Thanks Matt. But I'm really not afraid."

"I know you aren't," Matt offered a smile, accepting the obvious lie.

"Hey guys, do you see what I see?" Tentomon pointed ahead of them. Just ahead, they could plainly see a dark rock sitting out ahead of them. As they drew closer, they realized it had a smooth surface and was bobbing up and down with the waves. Biyomon took the air to get a better view of the formation and called out to them, "The area around it is really shallow. Also, there's some kind of hole in the middle."

"Maybe it's a volcano," TK suggested, "Cool! That means we can see if it'll erupt."

"I doubt that it's active. There are no fumes ventilating and the water around us hasn't gotten warmer. I'd say it's inactive," Izzy pointed out. TK bemoaned the fact but Sora said, "Whatever, it's solid ground. Let's set down and get off for a minute so Joe will stop throwing up."

"If we set down, that means I can work on my tan," Mimi smiled. Matt worked the rudder and steered them closer to the island. Once they were closer, Gomamon changed into Ikakumon to guide them through the shallow parts until they'd bumped against the rock. Sora and Matt helped Joe disembark first, resting him on his side on the ground. Gabumon jumped off next and parked himself on the center of the island. The others climbed off afterwards, Mimi went with Palmon to the far side of the volcano and sat down on the ground, "Finally! It's time to get a good tan!"

"And I can soak up some sun!" Palmon added, spreading out her arms and legs to bask in the sun's warm light.

"It's a shame I didn't bring my swim suit, then I could expose more skin," Mimi thought aloud, "I could just start taking off clothes, but-"

"Don't you think about getting naked," Sora reprimanded her, then turned to the boys, "And don't you guys think of peeking."

"Especially you Izzy," Mimi teased with tongue out at them. Tentomon remarked at his partner, "Izzy! You're red again!"

Matt nudged the computer whiz and quietly questioned, "So what's going on with you two? I didn't think she'd be your type."

"I…um…don't want to talk about it," Izzy wandered to the opposite side of the little rock island and quietly typed away on his computer. Matt rubbed his chin contemplatively while TK tugged at his shirt, "Matt, what are they doing? What's a type?"

"I'll tell you when you're older," Matt patted his little brother on his green hat. TK resented being talked down to and puffed out his cheeks angrily, "Nobody tells me anything."

"So Izzy, how far are we from Server?" Tentomon asked his computer partner, who was still red faced and typing erratically, "It's um…hard to tell without…any actual point of reference. This island…doesn't even show up on the map…so it's hard to tell where we are."

"Well that's no good," Tentomon frowned, "How are we supposed to know how much further we have to go?"

"I guess we'll just have to keep going," Izzy frowned.

"I'm getting sick just thinking about it," Joe said, still lying on the ground. He tightened his hand into a fist and pounded the ground, "I can't do it. I can't! If I have to get onto the ocean again, I think I'm gon-"

The ground started to shake and everyone naturally shot up.

"The volcano's erupting!" Mimi screamed.

"Let's go!" Palmon led the way back to the boat. Joe, still ill from seasickness, needed Sora and Gomamon's help to get back on to his feet. Matt had to convince Gabumon to get back into the water, mostly by assuring him that molten hot lava was far worse than anything water could do. Everyone splashed at the water with their hands, trying to put as much distance between themselves and island as possible. As Izzy so happily pointed out, "If we're not far enough away, the heat from the lava will boil the water around us and we'll cook alive."

"That's not helping Izzy!" Matt shouted at him, still paddling at the water with his hand. To their surprise, the island they'd just landed on didn't erupt in a spectacular display of explosives. Rather, it gently rose up to reveal a large blue body underneath covered in wires and pipes. From the rear emerged a large tail fin that rose up and crashed into the water, releasing a large wave that threw their boat momentarily into the air. The momentum was enough to upset Joe's stomach again and he puked face first into the ground. In that moment, they realized what they'd thought was an island was actually a large whale digimon.

"What kind of digimon is that?" TK panicked.

"That's Whamon!" Gomamon explained, "He's a marine digimon that lives in the depths of the digital world's oceans. He's normally a gentle giant, but he can be fierce when he's mad."

"Who's there?" Whamon asked, "I could have sworn something knocked me on the head."

"That was me," Joe managed in between spurts of throwing up into the water.

"Oh, hello," Whamon addressed, "Say, you look a little seasick. You probably shouldn't be out in the ocean."

"Sorry, we didn't mean to bother you, Whamon!" Biyomon apologized, "We were on our way to Server when our friend got seasick, so we stopped on your head thinking it was an island."

"Server, that's a long way to go on a boat that small. Especially for humans," the digimon said, "Wait…humans. You're humans!"

"Yeah! A bunch of good looking ones too if I can add," Mimi winked with a poke to her hat.

"But why would you want to go there?" the whale asked, "It's a dangerous place."

"We were going there to help out some friends of ours," TK said, "You might know them, one's an Agumon and the other one's a human like us. He goes by Tamer."

"I don't know anyone by those names," the digimon answered, "It's good that you want to help your friends, but it's still a really bad idea for you to go there."

"Why, what's wrong with Server?" Izzy asked, already readying his laptop.

"War, that's what's wrong. The fighting stopped for a while but supposedly it's picked back up again," Whamon told them, "A lot of digimon are dying. Some good, some bad. All of it needless. And if you're really going to go there, then I hope you're brining some fight with you because that place is a hotspot for violence."

"What kind of violence are we getting ourselves into?" Matt asked.

"On a boat like yours, you'd be blown out of the water before you even got close to shore," Whamon explained to them assuredly. Mimi confidently replied, "Yeah, but with some help from Palmon and our digivice, there's no way we can lose!"

"Can she swim?" Whamon asked, "Because you'll need to swim once she digivolves. That boat of yours looks like there's barely enough room for all of you. And if they all get big at the same time, your raft is going to sink."

"Well, we still need to try to help, right?" TK said innocently, "We may not be the strongest, but we still have to try. It's the right thing to do."

"Know your limits," Whamon said, "It's good to try and doing what is right is always an admirable feat. But both become meaningless if you place yourself in harm's way to do so."

"Well they did the same for us" Biyomon said, "So we kind of owe them a favor anyway."

"So it's obligation?" Whamon asked.

"No, it's just the right thing to do," Mimi said back. Whamon sighed, "It looks like convincing you is going to take a while. Well, it's too dangerous for you to go just by raft. So I'll take you to Server. It'll take a few days. Hopefully, by that time, I'll be able to convince you that this is a terrible idea."

He opened his mouth wide to swallow them whole. They all screamed as the water currents violently pulled them inside as they were powerless to escape.

"Why are you eating us?" Mimi screamed out as their raft moved further through its esophagus. The motions made Joe sick again as he poured his head out over the side of the raft and vomited uncontrollably. Their raft finally came to a stop inside of a large chamber illuminated by a single hole in the ceiling. The water around them was shallow enough for them to hop of the raft and wade through the murky waters. Sora shouted out, "What's the big idea Whamon!? How is eating us helping us?"

"If we're going to sneak you into Server, it'd be better to do so underwater," Whamon answered, "You can stay inside my stomach until we get there. It'll take a few days, so I can at least try to talk you out of your plan. You have my word that I'll get you there safely."

"I don't know about this guys," Matt remained skeptical, "How do we know he's not going to just eat us. I mean, a few days is more than enough to be digested."

"I think we should trust him, don't you Palmon?" Mimi asked her partner who happily agreed, "Of course! Whamon's a gentle guy. He wouldn't harm a fly."

"That's good enough for me," Izzy said.

"Are you sure you're not trying to get on Mimi's good side?" Sora asked incredulously, making everyone laugh to Izzy's dismay.

"Okay everyone! Next stop! Server!" Whamon said as the room shook with his movements. As Whamon promised, he immediately began trying to dissuade them from going. Even so, they mostly remained resolved on going. Matt, Joe, and Gabumon were still against going, weary of what could possible lie ahead of them.

 **Author's Notes:** That's all for tonight, dear readers! I'm taking a break next week for Christmas, so look forward to the next update on Friday, January 1st. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism. See you in two weeks!


	10. The Siege of Koromon Village

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Happy New Year folks. Here's to another good year. Don't have much to say so let's start the chapter.

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 10: Siege of Koromon Village**

It was early morning off the shores of Server, where a great forest met sandy beaches before the great expanse of water before it. The seas were calm, waves glided across the surface of the ocean and crashed along the warm sands. The water was clear and revealed the dunes formed on the ground below. The sole disturbance was the sudden appearance of a dark figure moving beneath the surface of the water, blurred by the ripples and waves produced by its immense speed. The water gave way to the figure as it broke the water's surface and coasted to a stop before the shore line.

Whamon opened his gaping maw and the boat carrying the digidestined and their digimon partners floated out. It brushed to a stop on the sandy shores and they disembarked, taking as many of the supplies as they could with them. While they unpacked Whamon pleaded again, "Are you sure about this? It's still not too late to go back."

"Sorry, we're committed to this," Izzy said, "We're going to save our friends."

"Right! After all, it's our job to be heroes for this world!" Mimi punched the air excitedly.

"That's right!" Palmon agreed, just as Joe retched into the beach. Gomamon rubbed his partner's back to help the boy overcome his own sea sickness. Whamon watched the kids continue unloading the boat and sighed, "If your heart is set on this, then I won't try to stop you anymore. I'll just give you a word of advice: Don't draw attention to yourselves. Good luck finding your friends."

"Thanks Whamon! And thanks for the ride!" TK shouted happily as the large whale disappeared beneath the surface of the water. They continued packing while Izzy retrieved his laptop, and started typing away on it, "I'm going to see if I can get an idea of where we landed and how far we have to go. It'll be hard without any actual reference points."

"How far do you figure we've gone?" Matt asked.

"Well, according to the map, it's about a hundred miles from File island to Server," Izzy mumbled, "So we've got about a hundred miles to go. Judging by the position of the sun right now, we're on a beach facing south east. And by that mountain over there, I'd say we're somewhere here."

Izzy pointed at a spot on his computer screen, "That's where we are on this map. And if that's true then there should be a village a short walk to the east called Koromon Village."

"Oh! Koromon! It means 'brave little warrior'! Those Koromon live around hot springs which they've made into spas! It's a perfect vacation spot!" Tentomon said knowledgeably. Izzy gave his partner an impressed look, "That's fascinating. I'll be sure to jot that down. Now if only you could read your own language."

"Vacation spot? So do they have beds?" TK asked excitedly, "Beds with warm blankets and soft pillows! Oh boy! I can't wait!"

"Wait! Can't! Wait!" Poyomon repeated excitedly.

"Y'know what I heard? Hot springs!" Mimi said excitedly.

"Hot water would be nice about now. You could do with another bath," Matt patted his little brother's head. TK looked at him worriedly and tightened his hold on his partner Poyomon. Joe retched once again and Gomamon added, "And maybe some medicine for Joe's stomach."

"Seriously, the guy who gets seasick has an aquatic partner," Biyomon put her hands to her hips, "It's like some kind of twisted joke."

"The sooner we get him to Koromon Village, the sooner he can get better," Gabumon offered, "I can digivolve to Garurumon and we can get him there faster."

"I think the motion sickness might make it worse for him," Palmon pointed out.

"I'm good!" Joe gave a thumb's up, pushing himself off the ground. He took a moment to steady himself, then leaned on Gomamon for support, "I'm ready to go."

"Well good, cause we're all packed up now," Biyomon said, "Let's go!"

"To the hot springs!" Mimi and Palmon said excitedly together. Their entire group marched into the forest with the sun to their backs and excited at the chance of visiting a vacation spot. As they proceeded further into the forest, they eventually noticed the sky darkening and a burnt smell lingering in the air. It didn't take long for the smell to become overpowering, Mimi being the first to comment, "Why would you set up a vacation spot at a place that smells like this?"

"Really? I smell barbecue," TK remarked, "Do you guys think they'll have hotdogs or hamburgers?"

"I don't think it's a barbecue," Gomamon remarked, pointing ahead to where the trees suddenly stopped. The earth was scorched as far as the eye could see, populated only by ashen trees standing dead. Off in the distance, they could see columns of smoke climbing high into the sky and turning into black clouds.

"Is it just me, or does that look like a fire?" Sora asked.

"It looks like trouble," Biyomon added.

"We should hurry!" Matt called out to the rest of them. They hurried their pace across fields of blackened earth and burnt wood until they came over a hill to see a large field. Ahead, a series of small huts came into view surrounded by a single large wooden wall. The wall was damaged with gaping holes and burns along it. The smoke rose from within the village, where buildings smoldered and burned. Several camps dotted the land just outside the walls, populated by a mix of large dinosaurs and small bipedal rabbits. The digimon moved freely amongst themselves but never dared to go near the walls of the village.

"Gazimon! And Tyrannomon! On a scale of one to ten, those guys are eleven on the bad scale," Gabumon said aloud only for Matt to cover his mouth. He shushed his partner and pushed him to the ground, then motioned for the others to lay on the ground as well, "I don't like the look of this. You guys don't figure that's Koromon Village do you?"

"By the looks, I'd say this is the fighting that Whamon was talking about," Tentomon observed.

"No! I wanted my spa bath!" Mimi pouted, just as Sora put a hand to her mouth, "Not so loud! We don't want to be seen."

A snap behind them alerted them to a tall robotic man standing behind them, covered in a mismatched mess of wires, leaves, twigs, and metal. The robot gazed down at them inquisitively, and they could make out the organic eyes and mouth beneath its metallic mask. It raised its right arm at them, which turned into a mechanical gun and demanded, "Intruders! Identify or be destroyed!"

"Gun!" TK shrieked, and they all panicked with him but not as much as Joe who helplessly yelped, "Wait! Don't hurt us! We're nice!"

"Everyone calm down! Let's just talk about this!" Sora said, "You don't need to shoot!"

"Yeah! We didn't do anything! Honest!" Palmon squeaked.

"Did Joe really just say 'don't hurt us, we're nice'?" Biyomon asked.

"Andromon! Wait!" a little pink ball with two long bunny ears poked its head out from behind the mechanical man's leg, "Look! On that one's belt! It's a digivice."

The mechanical man lowered his gun and bent down to more closely examine Matt's belt, getting close enough for all of them to become uncomfortable. After a few short seconds, Andromon backed away, "Analysis complete, item identified as a digivice. I apologize for the rudeness. I am Andromon."

"And I'm Koromon!" the little digimon behind him hopped out to greet them, "If you have digivices, then you must be friends of the Tamer and Agumon! That's perfect! We've been waiting for their help but they haven't shown up! But everything will be fine with you guys here!"

"Uh huh," Gabumon nodded, "We'd feel a lot better about it if you'd lower the gun."

Andromon's gun receded into his body, replaced with a mechanical hand which he offered to help them up. Matt took the extended hand and they all gathered up to their feet. Koromon bounced ahead of them, "Come on! I'll take you guys to the village! Ooh! This is so exciting! I can't wait to introduce you to the others."

"Hang on, what's going on!? Who are those guys over there?" Joe asked.

"This location is not safe," Andromon responded, "We will talk once we arrive at Koromon Village."

Koromon guided them through the burnt woods towards a patch of dried leaves on the ground. Hr moved the leaves aside to reveal a wooden trap door, beneath which was a tunnel burrowed deep below the ground into darkness. Koromon ushered them inside before taking care to conceal the entrance behind him. The tunnel was just large enough for them to crawl through, except Andromon who needed to squeeze through on his stomach. Their progress was slow going because of this and it took them an hour to finally see a glimmer of light.

They emerged from the tunnel into the blinking sunlight to find themselves on the other side of the wooden wall, where they were met by even more Koromon surrounding them. There were other digimon there with them too. Green lizards with brass trumpets around their necks, blue tadpoles with what looked like legs, one resembling a large white snowman, some that looked like rocks, and others resembling green slugs. There was a tense stand off between their groups while they filed out, silent with the exception of one of the Koromon asking, "Who are you guys and how did you find the tunnel?"

"It's okay! They're with us!" another Koromon leapt out, "They've got digivices! Which means they're friends with The Tamer and Agumon!"

There was a collective murmur when the word digivice was said, which turned to excitement when Sora showed hers. One of the green lizards ran up to Matt and shook his hand furiously, "It's true! You have digivices! This makes you the digidestined! It's an honor to meet you! We're saved!"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Matt answered sheepishly. Gabumon identified the digimon as Gekomon, Frigimon, Otamamon, Gotsumon and Numemon. The other digimon came closer to get a better look at their new arrivals, surrounding them entirely until Andromon finally emerged from the tunnel. He brushed the grime and dirt off his metallic frame and commanded, "Everyone. Back away from the humans. There's still work to be done. Fix the holes in the wall and dig more trenches. Who's taking care of the injured?"

The crowd quickly dispersed, disappearing to the wall or into the huts. Andromon motioned for them to follow him the village, a war torn group of houses and tents scorched black. Smoke still fumed from several buildings, some which were dilapidated beyond repair. Several digimon lay about outside the houses holding sticks, stones, farming equipment, and anything else that looked like it could be used as a weapon. Most were dozing, but the few who were awake had defeated looks in their eyes, hardly registering their presence as they walked by. Mimi commented on their surroundings, "This is hardly what I'd call a vacation spot. What happened to all these digimon?"

"I'll explain inside," Andromon said. He guided them into a large tent in the center of the village, a canvas cloth with a small fire in the center. They took seats around the campfire just as a group of Koromon came in with cups of water and a bowls of nuts and berries. The Koromon offered it to the children, "Welcome to our village! Please have some refreshments. We know it's not much but it's the most we have to give right now."

"Oh, it's alright! We brought supplies of our own!" Sora reached into Mimi's bag and produced a bottle of water which she drank out of, "But thank you anyway."

"You don't want it?" the Koromon seemed a little disappointed, earning Sora an elbow from Mimi. Mimi quickly grabbed some of the berries and smiled "Oh! We'd love to have some! Thanks for the food!"

This satisfied the Koromon and they took their leave. Everyone looked collectively at the bowl they were offered and wondered how much of the village's own supply had to be given up for this. Going off the state the village was in, there probably wasn't much. They had more than enough of their own supplies with them, and nobody wanted to take the first bite. Andromon noticed their hesitation, "I understand if you don't want any. The village has been in a poor state for a few days now."

"So what's going on exactly?" Tentomon asked, "I'd always understood Koromon Village to be a peaceful town built around hot springs."

"Still want to know how you know that," Izzy added slyly whilst he withdrew his laptop from his computer. Andromon sighed, "That is true. It was a long time ago, when only the Koromon lived here. Over time, other digimon began to come here as well - Gekomon, Otamamon, Frigimon, Gotsumon, Numemon. That was when it became a home for refugees, digimon fleeing the fighting."

"Yeah, we'd heard about that from Whamon, but he didn't know much else besides that," Izzy commented, clacking away at the keyboards on his laptop, "So what fighting is happening exactly?"

"Etemon and his army…no, that's not the right word. Um, friends, perhaps? Servants…" Andromon trailed off, a look of deep contemplation on his face, "Groupies…associates. A long time ago, his associates went around taking innocent digimon. Some fought back, but few managed to do so successfully. The fighting spread like wild fire and before we knew it, Etemon and his associates controlled a sizable piece of the continent. Many digimon fled the fighting and came here because it was under the protection of two heroes who were never afraid to fight back. Koromon mentioned them earlier, The Digimon Tamer and Agumon. The two declared this village under their protection which scared Etemon enough to not want to come here. As a result, many digimon felt it was safe here and travelled to live here. Although by that point, Etemon stopped his crazy expansion Apparently, the piece of territory he'd carved out for himself was more than enough for him."

Andromon paused briefly to sip some water and continued, "The Tamer and Agumon couldn't be around all the time, though. There was always some place for them to go, someone who needed help. They left me here to protect the digimon of this village but promised to come if we ever called for help. A few days ago, Etemon's associates appeared outside the town and started to attack. We drove them back, but they decided to set up camp around the village if they couldn't take it by force. Their plan seems to be to starve us out. We launched a counter attack to try and push them away, but they were stronger than we could ever be. That was why Koromon and I used that tunnel to try and find help. If we could find Tamer and Agumon, we might be able to push them back. That was when we ran into you."

"So is that why the forest was all burned?" Mimi asked.

"I think they call it slash-and-burn," Izzy explained, "It's a tactic that meant to deprive an enemy of resources so that a prolonged military campaign becomes unsustainable, forcing them into an early surrender. That doesn't seem like it would work though, since it would only deprive you of resources, so that must mean Etemon's guys did it."

"I don't understand a word you said," Palmon said, "But I don't appreciate people burning down trees or plants."

"Yes, they did destroy the forest," Andromon confirmed for them, "They did it so that we couldn't use the cover of the forest to protect ourselves."

"But they missed that hidden passage you had leading out of the tunnel," Matt pointed out, "Why not just leave if you have it. There's no way they'd be able to stop you if you did."

"Then they'd see a whole bunch of digimon suddenly appearing outside the village," Joe retorted, "Besides, you can't really expect people to get up and leave their homes. How would you feel if you had to leave everything you know."

Matt shot him a glare and Joe went quiet. Gomamon put a paw on Joe, "That's right! No one should have to be kicked out of their home!"

"You might be right, but remember what Whamon said?" Gabumon spoke up, "Know your limits. And let's be honest here: the biggest digimon I've seen on your side is you Andromon. But on their side, we saw a lot more digimon and most were bigger than you. As much as you want to fight, I don't think you can win."

"Not on our own, that's why we went out for help," Koromon motioned to himself and Andromon, "We wanted to find Agumon and the Tamer. Instead we found you. To be honest, I think that's better. If you're all as good as those two are, we definitely stand a chance."

"If I may ask, what were you doing, wandering out there in the forest?" Andromon asked cautiously.

"We came here for the same reason, we're looking for Tamer and Agumon," Biyomon explained, "After we beat Devimon-"

"Devimon?" Koromon gasped, "You guys beats Devimon?"

"Well, Angemon did," Palmon looked at the little digimon in TK's hands happily munching on some of the nuts, "Although I guess its Poyomon now. He may not look it, but he took down Devimon all by himself. It was amazing!"

"If you defeated Devimon, then that only assures us that you're strong enough to help us win," Andromon affirmed. The others shifted uncomfortably. Angemon defeated Devimon, not them. And Poyomon was still a baby, he couldn't possibly be expected to fight. Which meant it fell on them to help this village.

Sora looked around at the others. Palmon looked ready to pick a fight, and Mimi would go with her wherever that led. Izzy was likely to go along with Mimi, and Tentomon would be dragged along. Joe was also on their side too - which meant Gomamon was the same. Only Matt was on the side of leaving. She felt terrible for feeling the same but this wasn't their fight. All they wanted was a way home, which was the entire reason they came - on the slim chance that Tamer and Agumon knew of a way back. But she couldn't just leave all of these digimon here to die. It had only been a few days but they were clearly not ready to handle any more fighting. So that just left the question of if she'd be okay abandoning these digimon to their fates or if she should do something to help them.

The others were already talking about what they could do to help - directly fighting the digimon outside the wall or perhaps luring the attacking digimon away from the village. Sora sat quietly and listened to them talking without saying a word, still unsure of what stance to take on the matter. Suddenly, they were all blinded when a blast of light erupted from beside them. Poyomon's voice echoed out, "Poyomon! Digivolve to! Tokomon!"

When the light cleared, the little blob in TK's lap was replaced by the familiar little Tokomon giggling happily. TK took one look at the small creature in his hands and cried out in joy, "TOKOMON! You're back!"

"Well, if that's not a clear sign then I don't know what is," Joe nodded assuredly, "At this rate, we'll have him back to Patamon in no time!"

"I don't care what he is," TK smiled, cuddling Tokomon, "As long as he's around!"

They were all happy for TK and Tokomon, but the moment was taken away by a sudden loud bang and the ground rocking slightly. They hurried outside of the tent to find a new column of smoke rising beside the wall along with shouts and the sound of panic. Smaller digimon like the Koromon and Otamamon frantically ran back and forth for pails of water while a larger digimon such as Frigimon and Gekomon made for the wall.

"What's happening?" Andromon asked one of the passing Gekomon, who frenetically answered, "We don't know! They're not advancing on the wall! One of the Tyrannomon just shot a fireball at it!"

As he said that, the loud screech of microphone feedback rang out and they all covered their ears in agony. There were a few thumps followed by an accented voice dolling out commands, "Now listen here folks! I don't mean'a interrupt nothing important but I got something that needs saying."

"Hey guys, does that voice sound familiar?" Gabumon said sheepishly.

"That might have something to do with it," Biyomon pointed skyward in the direction of a beam of light reflecting an image off the new plume of smoke. It showed an image of a monkey wearing sunglasses holding a guitar strapped around his shoulder. The monkey spoke into a microphone in his hand, declaring, "Now ya'll listen here. The name's Etemon and I'm in charge of them digimon that's been attacking your home. I'm sure you all don't like it. Believe me, I don't either. Fact of the matter is, I wanna get on with my career as the greatest musician ever! But I gotta take care of something else first, and to do that I need this boy here to talk. Uh huh!"

The image of the monkey adjusted to reveal the Tamer and Agumon tied up in ropes on their knees. The monkey grabbed the Tamer by his fiery hair and pulled him up to reveal his bloodied face. There was a collective gasp from everyone, the digimon, the digidestined, and their partners. TK especially was shaking where he stood until Matt hugged him close. Andromon and a few of the other digimon could be heard saying, "No."

Etemon continued, "Ya'll might know who this is. Some call him the Digimon Tamer and that over there's his partner Agumon. They know something I need and they won't talk. Since nothing I do to them can make them, I figure'd I'd start doing things to digimon and places they like. But he still won't talk. I'm just telling y'all so that you understand when I destroy your village in a minute that it ain't my fault. It's his for not giving me what I want. Uh huh. Now that we got that out of the way, are you ready to talk?"

He pulled harder on Tamer's hair, forcing him to stand upright. Etemon looked him square in the eye and growled again, "Your fans are waiting guys. Do you have something to say?"

"All your hostility really comes off as more childish than threatening," the Tamer said with a grin, "I mean, you basically said to the world: I'm not getting my way so I'm just going to bully everyone else until I do. What's next, holding your breath? It's no wonder your music career didn't really go anywhere. Though, to be honest, I'm not sure you had much musical talent in the first place."

"Honestly, I think he's just compensating," Agumon added.

"I hope you're real proud of yourselves because that whole village over there is going to pay the price," Etemon said. Sora looked at the others and shouted, "Guys, we should probably do something!"

"Yeah! Let's go!" Biyomon punched the air.

"I'm with you on this. But TK," Matt pushed his brother back, "Stay here! I promise, we'll be right back!"

"Okay," TK nodded, still hugging Tokomon. The five remaining children and their digimon partners ran for the wall, all the while watching the projection still reflecting off the smoke column.

The Tamer glanced off to the side and shrugged, "If you were going to destroy it, you'd have done it by now. Hey you! Gazimon! You want to know a secret? Know why Etemon here's spent the last few days questioning us? Coz he's scared. And guess what? He's scared of six kids cause he thinks they'll beat him up! Think about. The musical genius Etemon is scared of little kids! He has nightmares they'll call him names!"

Snickering could be heard somewhere off camera and a Etemon punched Tamer in the face so hard he hit the ground. Etemon then pointed at something and said, "Now see here! I ain't tolerating any more of your nonsense! And you! You'd best stop laughing cos those kids he's talking about are called the digidestined! They're just as dangerous as these guys here are if not worse! Uh huh!"

By now, they were already assembled at a hole in the wall large enough for them to stare out at Etemon's digimon. They numbered the same but were now standing ready to attack. On their side were Andromon, a few of the Gekomon and some of the Frigimon. Even with these digimon here to help, it was painfully obvious that they were outnumbered. Already, Joe seemed to be losing his nerve, "So, did we have a plan here guys? I'm all for a head on attack but that didn't really work with Devimon and we don't really know what we're up against here."

"Our main goal right now should be to rescue Agumon and Tamer," Andromon stated pointing to the very front of the assembly of digimon. A makeshift stage was set up where they could see Etemon standing beside his two hostages. Before them stood a crew of Gazimon working cameras, a sound system, and a projector aimed up at the smoke. Andromon continued, "Once Etemon gives the command, they'll destroy the village and winning won't be possible. We're out numbered and out skilled here. But if Tamer and Agumon are set free, they might not attack right away."

"They would stop for two people?" Izzy asked curiously, "I doubt the two of them could do much."

"Remember what Tamer said," Andromon responded, "If they were going to destroy the village, they would have done so by now. And you know why they haven't?"

"They're scared," Izzy finished, recalling what Tamer just said.

"So, get the Tamer and come back!" Sora nodded, "Biyomon and I will go with Izzy and Tentomon to get him. The rest of you stay here and distract them until we get back."

"Wait, why us?" Tentomon asked nervously. Sora pointed at Etemon's horde and stated, "Because they don't have any flying digimon. We fly right over them, grab Tamer and Agumon, and fly right back. In and out."

"Okay, I like this plan," Matt said, surprising them all. He explained, "It's a quick in and out rescue, and we just have to distract them. Gabumon?"

"I'll give it everything I have," Gabumon pumped his fists enthusiastically.

"Then let's go!" Mimi said excitedly, raising her digivice into the air, "I say we give them something else to be afraid of!"

Their digimon partners charged ahead and their digivices came to life with them.

"Gabumon! Digivolve to! Garurumon!"

"Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

"Tentomon! Digivolve to! Kabuterimon!"

"Palmon! Digivolve to! Togemon!"

"Gomamon! Digivolve to! Ikakumon!"

Sora and Izzy climbed onto their partner's backs and kicked off high into the air. Andromon and Ikakumon opened the attack by firing into Etemon's assembled forces. They scrambled away from the explosions, creating a small opening for Garurumon and Togemon to rush in. They tackled the first digimon they came across, a hapless Tyrannomon that was knocked to the ground. This inspired the rest of the digimon of Koromon Village to charge into the fray with them. Etemon could be heard shouting at his minions, "The heck are ya'll doing! Get back to your stations! Uh huh! We got more numbers than they do and stronger digimon for it! What are you running scared for!"

Sora pointed to the speakers on stage, "Izzy! Kabuterimon! Can you guys shut him up?"

"Gladly! Electro Shocker!" Kabuterimon launched a bolt of lightning at the speakers. The surge of electricity cut out their sound and fried the rest of their electrical equipment. The feedback deafened them and the ruined equipment spewed thick black smoke. Etemon coughed and hacked, fanning away at the smoke and backing away.

"That's our opening!" Sora shouted, "Birdramon! Go!"

"On it!" Birdramon roared.

"Right behind you!" Kabuterimon followed close behind. They dived down towards the stage and landed with a loud crash that shook them to the ground. The beat of their wings cleared the smoke and they got their first up close glimpse of Etemon. He was smaller than she thought he'd be and was clearly shaken by their sudden appearance, "What!? NO!"

Both Agumon and Tamer wore big goofy smiles on their faces, despite their worse for wear appearances. Sora waved at them and said to Etemon, "Hi! Don't mind us! We're just here for our friends!"

Kabuterimon picked up Tamer and Agumon in his arms took back off for the air, "Sorry. This ride's about to get bumpy!"

"Later Etemon! Thanks for the talk!" Tamer grinned as he was whisked away. Birdramon joined them with a flap of her wings which kicked up enough wind to knock Etemon back. Etemon continued to stare wide mouthed as the bird flew away. Sora waved her farewell to the monkey, amused by his stunned expression, "Bye!"

"What! Get back here! I won't be made fun of!" Etemon howled, "Get back here!"

Sora stuck her tongue out at him, but there's was no way he could see that at this distance. They flew over Etemon's forces, his digimon who were now reorganizing and pushing back on the others. Birdramon swooped in low to knock a few to the ground and whizzed past Garurumon. Sora waved for him to go back for the wall and Garurumon nodded his understanding. He howled out and the others fell back some distance. Togemon took up the rear, giving the others some distance before showering the area in needles, "Needle spray!"

Etemon's smaller digimon were driven back but the larger digimon pushed ahead until Andromon scared them off with a few shots from his gun. Andromon fired more shots to make sure no more of Etemon's digimon continued pursuing them before safely returning inside the wall. Within the wall, the digimon all gathered around Kabuterimon as he set both Tamer and Agumon down. Despite their injuries, the two were able to walk normally and even greeted a few of the digimon. A Gekomon approached with a knife and undid their bonds.

The five digidestined grouped together and their partners dedigivolved back to their normal forms. TK and Tokomon excitedly ran to Matt and Gabumon, "Guys! You're alright!"

"Hey! I promised didn't I?" Matt answered, tussling his little brother's hair. TK giggled sheepishly, then craned his head when he caught a glimpse of the fiery haired boy and his digimon partner, "Is that them? They're not as big as I remember."

"Yeah, but be careful around them," Gomamon warned, "They're a little crazy."

"Hmm, I don't know. The other digimon seem to like the two," Mimi said, "Maybe it was just a bad first impression."

"Well they're here," Matt shrugged, "Whenever they're done with all those digimon, we should definitely ask them if they know a way back to our world."

"Wait, what about the village?" Palmon asked.

"You heard what they said," Matt thumbed at Andromon, "As long as they have him, they'll be fine."

"I don't know. I mean we caught Etemon by surprise," Izzy stated, "But I don't think that rescuing Tamer and Agumon is enough to make him back off."

"It's _The Digimon_ Tamer," Tamer's voice said while approaching them with Agumon, "It's been forever, why does everyone still get that wrong? So you're all still alive. That's good to know. Thanks for the help by the way. We would have escaped on our own, but we were still working on the escape plan."

" _You_ were still working on the escape plan," Agumon corrected, "I wanted to just sit tight and see what happened."

"They were punching me in the face," Tamer shot back, massaging a bruise below his eye, "Repeatedly!"

"A few hits to the head would be good for your ego," Agumon snickered, "And it might fix a few other things!"

"Don't be smart, Agumon," Tamer shot back, "I'm the smart, clever one and you're the…dinosaur one."

"What were you saying about being smart and clever?" Agumon asked.

"Okay, I'm ignoring you now," Tamer frowned. He pointed at Sora excitedly and said, "You! You look like the leader of this group. What was your name? Something like Sky, right?"

"It's Sora," Sora corrected. Tamer shrugged, "Close enough. So what's next?"

"Yeah, next?" Agumon asked, "You guys rushed in to get us out after Etemon threatened to destroyed the village. That definitely distracted him and he's probably still raving about it but that won't last forever. When he snaps out of it, he'll be out for pay back! So what's next?"

"We…um, didn't really think that part out," Sora answered sheepishly. Frowns drew themselves on both Tamer and Agumon's faces. The frown turned to a scowl, "You went in without a plan. I guess you were hoping that we would?"

There were a few uneasy nods and Tamer sighed, "Of course."

He crossed his arms and closed his eyes, deep in thought about what to do next. Everyone silently watched him fume until Matt said, "To be honest, I thought running away was the best solution. There's no way they'll be able to defend this village. There's just too many of them on the other side."

"We did pretty well earlier," Mimi asked.

"He wasn't expecting you guys to run out at him," Tamer said without opening his eyes, "Like Agumon said. Once Etemon snaps out of it, he'll be out for payback. And Marc is right, they can't protect the village."

"It's Matt," Gabumon said.

"Marc," the Tamer insisted, "Is right. We're…doomed. First step is to talk to Andromon and convince the other digimon to leave the village."

"You're going to kick them out of their home!?" Joe shouted, "These digimon were so excited to see you! They thought you might be able to help them! You're just going to let them down?"

"Yeah, well that's how it is," Agumon grunted, "There's nothing either of us can do against numbers like that. Let's go."

The Tamer and Agumon stormed towards Andromon in a huff. They all looked at each other and chased after them, hoping that they might be able to convince them to change their mind. The digimon of the village helped out with their rescue, so the two of them should feel some need to help them out.

 **Author's Notes:** That's all for tonight, dear readers! I'm taking a break next week for Christmas, so look forward to the next update on Friday, January 8th. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I usually respond in a day or two using the reply section. I also welcome constructive criticism. See you in next week!


	11. Dark Network Attack

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hey folks! Thanks again for all the reviews! This is the part where I should mention that the story will start having darker shades. It will still be a light hearted adventure about kids saving the world, but compared to the original - we will be going into some dark territory. As before, review responses are now handled directly through the review response system. Also one quick response to a guest review and we'll be on our way:

 **Guest:** Because if I was involved in digimon's writing process, I would never give a happy ending. Most seasons would have bittersweet endings, like the original digidestined defeat Apocalymon but their digimon die in the process. Then when Adventure 02 rolls around, they really are left in the role of mentors for the new digidestined because their digimon are gone. Tamers would've ended with the kids pulled into the Digital World with their digimon. So yay, world's safe but now the kids will never go home because they're trapped in another world.

Well, that's all for now so enjoy the next chapter of the Tamer: A Digimon Adventure

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 11: Dark Network Attack**

"No," Andromon stated bluntly.

"You're choosing to die instead of choosing to live," Tamer argued.

"I am fulfilling the mission I have been assigned," Andromon said back.

"I was the one who gave you the mission, and the mission was to protect the digimon of this village."

"Mission parameters included protecting their homes."

"Their homes are already lost, what you should focus on is getting them out of here before Etemon decides to burn it to the ground!"

"You can lead us in a fight against them. You've fought armies before."

"Yes, _we_ did," the Tamer pointed to himself and Agumon, "With an army. This. This is not army. This is a rag tag bunch of villagers, no offense, who are up against bigger numbers, and bigger enemies who fight for a living."

"We have to try."

"And we know what happened last time. Are you seriously saying that you want the digimon of this village to go the same way?" Tamer shouted out loud, giving Andromon pause. A spectacle had unfolded in front of them as soon as Tamer told Andromon they would have to leave the village. The two were arguing immediately do to differences in opinion of how to move forward, and the whole village had gathered around to watch them argue. The digidestined and their digimon partners stood behind Agumon, who had made himself a comfortable spot on the ground to watch. Sora especially paid close attention to the Tamer, examining every inch of his bruised and injured face. His face was definitely familiar - she just couldn't place where she'd seen it or why she knew it.

Tamer and Andromon continued their exchange, while Biyomon whispered to Agumon, "Is this normal?"

"Actually, this is kind of straight forward," Agumon replied, "Normally, he'd have some overly convoluted plan. Just talking like this is a nice change of pace."

"You almost sound relieved," Biyomon frowned.

"The normal way we do things tends to involve a lot more things blowing up," Agumon frowned.

"Like the manor?" Biyomon accused. Agumon shrugged, "That was an accident. The old manor had faulty pipes, Leomon cut one of them while he was swinging his sword around. None of us noticed that one of the pipes was a gas pipe. At least, not until I tried to use my pepper breath. Next thing I know, the Tamer is carrying me away from the wreckage."

"Oh," Biyomon cocked her head to the side.

"Andromon, I'm sorry. This village can't be saved," The Tamer said, "So save yourselves and get out while you can. Once Etemon attacks, this village will be lost."

"Why can't we stay and fight?" Andromon asked, "You two have managed the impossible before."

"Because…because it has to happen," the Tamer said sheepishly. The digimon began murmuring uncomfortably amongst themselves and Andromon was shaken. Even Agumon seemed surprised, shifting on the ground to pay better attention. The Tamer continued, "That's how it plays out. Koromon Village gets destroyed. The best we can hope for at this point is to make sure nobody dies. Honestly, it's more likely that we'll only save a few."

Andromon remained impassive but asked, "You're certain?"

"Very," Tamer answered sheepishly, "So please. Everyone has to go."

"How long do we have?" Andromon asked.

"Not very," the Tamer frowned, "How many exits?"

"We built five tunnels to sneak in and out of the village if we were ever attacked," Andromon frowned, "But they're not large enough for all of us to get out at once. It'll take time."

"Time that we don't have," the Tamer frowned, "Okay, we need a distraction. Agumon and I can handle that part. We're good at drawing attention. How long would you need to get everyone out?"

"About an hour with the size of the tunnels," a Koromon said. The Tamer turned to Agumon and nodded. Agumon returned the nod with an understanding smile, "I've got that much fight in me."

Tamer punched his hands together, "That's all I need buddy. Okay, everyone, pack what you can and get whatever supplies you can carry. You'll need to move fast and light."

"If you are fighting, I would like to join you," Andromon stated.

"No, no, go protect the digimon and make sure they get out safely," the Tamer urged, "Then protect them. Keep any of Etemon's digimon off them."

"But where are we supposed to go?" one of the Frigimon asked. The Tamer pointed away from the village, "Just north of here, go to ShogunGekomon's Palace. He owes us a favor and he shouldn't have any problems accommodating all the guests."

"You're pointing south," Agumon commented, prompting the Tamer to spin on his heels to correct himself. The other digimon continued to murmur amongst themselves, concerned about whether or not to go. One of the Gekomon added, "But, guys, ShogunGekomon's can't protect us. He's fallen into a deep sleep and has been that way for a long time."

"Then he definitely won't mind!" the Tamer insisted, "Come on! Go! We don't have a lot of time and we lost a lot of it sitting here talking."

The digimon all ran into their huts and started shoveling anything they could into bags. The Tamer broke away from the center and approached the digidestined, "Right then, you guys. How far can you digivolve?"

"What?" Gabumon shifted uneasily.

"You five are at the rookie level, and he's an in-training," the Tamer pointed at Tokomon, "So how far can you digivolve?"

"Well, they can all digivolve to their next form if that's what you're asking," Sora answered for them. The Tamer sighed, "Okay, with Agumon that means we have six champions."

"Didn't Elecmon talk about something like that?" Tentomon asked.

"That's right! He said Tokomon was an in-training form of Patamon, who was a rookie," Biyomon added. The Tamer and Agumon stared at them confounded. Tamer opened his mouth but Agumon spoke first, "Don't you guys know about digivolution levels?"

"Not really, we only just found out about them," Palmon replied sheepishly. Agumon rolled his eyes, "Okay, quick run down: All digimon start as eggs, then they're born as Fresh. After that, the digivolutions go In-Training, Rookie, Champion, Ultimate, Mega, and SuperMega. There are others, but those are the important ones. Each level is stronger than the last but, depending on the digimon, they can easily take on multiple digimon of the same level. See levels aren't really a measure of strength, more like a measure of where they are in their digivolution state."

"Going off what Etemon said, you guys killed Devimon," the Tamer added, "What level do you think he was at?"

"Well, based on what you guys said, I guess he was an ultimate," Izzy answered speculatively, already typing into his laptop, "I mean, our digimon are all rookies right now so that means they were at the champion level when they fought. But they couldn't even scratch him, which means he must have been an ultimate."

"Wrong! Devimon was a champion level digimon. Etemon is an ultimate," Agumon corrected him. The revelation hit them like a ton of bricks, and it was apparent on their faces. The Tamer added, "Do you see how screwed we are here?"

The digidestined and their partners looked between each other, still letting the fact sink in that Etemon was stronger than Devimon. It didn't seem at all possible. Devimon hounded them for days without their knowledge and manipulated scores of digimon to attack them. Meanwhile, Etemon was barely managing to get his own digimon to not laugh at him. How was he stronger than Devimon?

"So we can't fight them," the Tamer sprung up excitedly, "But we can outsmart them. You've probably noticed that they're not very bright."

"No kidding," Mimi chuckled, "We saw that holo-what's it. You were messing with Etemon pretty good."

"And weren't we fantastic?" the Tamer said proudly, putting his hands to his waist. Agumon cocked his head to the side, "Is that why you kept saying two hundred miles west?"

"Yeah."

"I thought you were having a stroke."

"I was being clever," Tamer defended himself. Agumon laughed, "Yeah, you were so clever that you didn't realize repeating the same thing over and over again would get Etemon to kick your face in."

"Are you two done? Because you just told an entire village that looked ready to fight to the death to give up," Gomamon protested, "And all you said was it had to happen? What does that mean? It has to happen."

"I want to know too," Izzy pressed curiously, continuing to type away, "Because right now, it doesn't look like there's any reason for it to fall besides the fact that you're refusing to do anything to save it."

"I'm not refusing to save it," the Tamer said, "It's more like I can't save it. As in, hey look there's an army over there with really powerful digimon and we may as well lay down and die if we think fighting them head on is a good idea."

"That didn't answer his question," Matt pointed out matter of factly, "What does it mean when you say Koromon Village has to be destroyed?"

"Are you going to keep asking questions or are we going to get ready to buy time for the villagers to escape?" Agumon asked angrily, "You have a plan, right?"

"Not at all," the Tamer smiled a toothy grin through his bloodied face. Mimi's voice hinted discouragement when she asked, "You two make this up as you go along, don't you?"

"Oh yeah. But we look good doing it," Agumon replied excitedly. The Tamer paced back and forth in front of them, rubbing his chin and quietly mumbling to himself incoherently before finally stating, "Okay! I figure that Etemon will probably tell his digimon to focus on us. As in all of us, together. Agumon and I will be just outside the wall to try and hold the stronger ones there. We'll hold them back for a little bit, but you guys will have to keep them from actually getting across it. They will get past the wall though, it's just a question of time. Once they do, you guys fall back. Don't just give them the ground though, go back slowly inch by inch. Until you're on the other side of the village with your backs to the wall. We still have to buy the villagers time to escape."

"Won't that trap us?" Mimi asked.

Agumon pointed at Biyomon and Tentomon, "They can fly. Just fly out of there."

"What about you guys?" Gomamon looked at the two suspiciously, "You kind of disappear from this plan once we're inside the wall."

"We're the distraction," the Tamer said again, "If Etemon's busy worrying about us, he won't be paying any attention to what you're doing. Which you don't want because his singing is bad."

"Well how bad can it be? Matt likes to sing in the shower and it's annoyingly bad," TK added, to the amusement of everyone present. Matt's expression had turned beet red and he buried his hand into his little brother's scalp to perform an intense noogie. TK squeaked and stopped talking, as Agumon went on, "Your ears will bleed if you hear it. Listen too long and you go deaf. Also, depending on the digimon, it can regress you back to an in-training. That's why we'll be out there distracting them."

"So do you all understand the plan?" the Tamer asked seriously, "Because we only get one shot at this and there's no time to practice."

"Keep them at the wall until they get to it, and then let them push us through the village until we get to the other side. Then fly out," Sora repeated. The Tamer nodded approvingly, "Well, at least your leader got it."

"She's not actually our leader," Tentomon pointed out. The Tamer looked between the bug digimon, then to Sora, "Oh? Who is?"

"We don't have one," Joe folded his arms, "We just kind of go by vote. So I think that makes it democratic."

Their discussion ended when another earthquake rattled the ground, with enough force to bring them to their knees. The spotlight from before reappeared to reflect an image of Etemon off a column of smoke, and the sound of microphone feedback echoed through the air. With a gruff tone, Etemon stated, "Now ya'll listen up! I will not be made a fool of, ya hear? Uh huh! Before, I was thinking of letting a few of you live. But now, I'm gonna let you guys have it! Get em boys!"

"Let's go, Agumon!" Tamer shouted out.

"I'm with you all the way!" Agumon's claws came together like two fists.

"Come on!" the Tamer shouted to the rest of their group. He and Agumon led the charge for the wall, hearing the thunderous march of feet from the other side. They passed hundreds of screaming digimon running the opposite direction with whatever they could carry in their hands. Some wished them luck while others lamented their fortunes, simply wanting for everything to end. A few picked up their make shift weapons to help but Tamer and Agumon insisted they leave. They emerged on the other side of the wall and saw Etemon's digimon marching for the wall. In front were the smaller rabbit like digimon occasionally interspersed with groups of larger Tyrannomon. The Tyrannomon stopped short of the wall and breathed balls of fire at it, "Blaze Blast!"

The fireballs roared overhead and impacted along the wall, blasting holes and setting it ablaze. The fire spread quickly along the wall, panicked screams echoing from within the village itself. The rabbit like Gazimon dropped to all fours and hurried their pace, charging straight across the open field.

"Stick to the plan," Agumon instructed, "And we'll probably all make it out alive."

"Probably?" TK asked.

"Well yeah, this is a battle," Agumon replied unapologetically, "Not everyone gets out alive. But don't worry about that. If you're going to go down, make sure they don't ever forget it!"

The confidence the two exuded was remarkable despite the odds present before them. The digidestined pointed their digivices at their partners, watching the digivices come to life and their partners transform into their champion levels.

"Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

"Gabumon! Digivolve to! Garurumon!"

"Palmon! Digivolve to! Togemon!"

"Gomamon! Digivolve to! Ikakumon!"

"Tentomon! Digivolve to! Kabuterimon!"

Birdramon and Kabuterimon took the air while the rest of them stayed behind wall. Matt especially made sure TK and Tokomon were a good distance behind them for their own safety. They watched both Agumon and the Tamer walk past the wall with held breath. The Tamer had a digivice, so why wasn't he using it to digivolve Agumon? How could they so casually march towards the oncoming horde? With all of the Gazimon charging towards them, Agumon would definitely have to be at a stronger level to even compete. Even worse was that he went out there with Agumon unarmed. Instead, he adjusted the goggles over his eyes and cracked his knuckles.

"Okay, I agree with Ikakumon now. He's crazy going out there," Joe stated, "What exactly does he think he's doing?"

"If he's not careful, he's going to get hurt," TK stated.

"Shouldn't we help them?" Mimi asked while the Gazimon drew closer to the pair, only thirty yards away, then twenty, and then ten. When they were feet away, the lead Gazimon leapt into the air at Agumon with his claws out stretched, "Eat this!"

Agumon stepped backwards so that the Gazimon's claw dug into the ground, then Tamer ran and kicked it in the head so hard that it bounced away and crashed against a rock.

"Which one?" Izzy remarked in surprise. The pair's teamwork didn't deter the other Gazimon from continuing their charge. The digidestined were surprised at how easy the two made it look. They ducked, weaved, and moved through the attacking Gazimon effortlessly. They also worked in tandem, one who distract and the other would attack. Even though they were well outnumbered, the efficiency of their movements let the duo fight on even footing with the Gazimon. However, they couldn't get them all and many of the Gazimon rushed past the pair for the wall.

"Okay guys! We have to keep them here! Birdramon!" Sora called out to her partner.

"Kabuterimon!" Izzy said at the exact same time. The two flying digimon sprayed a flurry of fire and electricity from the sky onto the attacking Gazimon. Many of the Gazimon screamed as they came aflame or were shocked, comically running around to put out the flames or convulsing as if they were dancing. But that didn't get all of them. The ones who got through were now at the wall and it was Garurumon who met them first. He charged out and used his claws to mangle any Gazimon who tried to push through. Any who snuck past were quickly knocked out by Togemon and Ikakumon.

They were doing a good job so far, keeping the Gazimon from getting past the wall. Every time they tried to push forward, their digimon pushed them back. After about five minutes, Etemon's voice roared out, "Hey! What's going on up there! Pick up the pace and get into that village already! Tyrannomon! Show off the fireworks! Uh huh!"

The Tyrannomon began marching towards the wall and the Gazimon moved out of their way to let the massive digimon through. The first one reached the Tamer and smashed away at the ground. The Tamer moved back and forth between each swing of the arms. Several of the Gazimon tried to attack the distracted Tamer but he moved through them as well as he moved through Tyrannomon's flails. Agumon ran to Tamer's side, but rather than help him, Agumon jumped onto one of the Gazimon and used it like a trampoline to bounce into the air towards Tyrannomon.

Tamer raised his digivice skyward and it screamed to life. Tamer shouted, "Go Agumon!"

"Agumon! Digivolve to! Greymon!"

Agumon vanished in a bright light, replaced by a larger orange dinosaur with blue stripes running down the length of its back and wearing a large brown skull with horns over its head. Greymon crashed straight into the Tyrannomon, pinning it to the ground and using both arms to keep it there. Fire crackled inside Greymon's mouth and he growled, "Nova Blast!"

The flames cooked Tyrannomon alive and it screamed helplessly as it disintegrated. The other Tyrannomon stopped their advance to watch Greymon rise up to face them. Some of the Gazimon had stopped to stare in awe and began backing away. The digidestined were just as surprised, the Tamer and Greymon were already showing themselves to be impressive fighters. Killing the Tyrannomon in the manner they did reeked of some kind of untapped ferocity that they hadn't seen before. Neither the Tamer nor Greymon seemed troubled by it either. The Tyrannomon was helpless, incapable of fighting back but they killed it in the most painful way possible.

"What are you all doing? It's one digimon! Kill it!" Etemon shouted at his lackeys. They hesitated, no one wanted to be next. A lone Gazimon shouted an obscenity and charged first, reinvigorating the other digimon back into charging. Greymon took a step back and breathed another ball of fire at the charging Gazimon, "Nova Blast!"

The Gazimon screamed while it was incinerated from the flames, but the other digimon kept charging. Greymon brushed his tail along the ground to throw the Gazimon around and scooped up the Tamer with one of his large claws, resting the boy on his head. The two then started running. Not away or towards the enemy, but parallel to the wall so that some of the charging digimon changed direction to follow. At the wall, the digidestined and their partners saw the pair running. Mimi shrieked, "What are they doing? Are they abandoning us?"

"It looks like it, yeah," Joe frowned defeatedly.

Greymon changed direction while running and soon turned on his pursuers. Greymon charged straight towards them with a loud roar. The pursuing Gazimon and Tyrannomon ran straight at him ready to fight until the very last second when Greymon darted to the side and ran past them. They could hear the Tamer laughing at the Gazimon and Tyrannomon - clearly stupefied by what just happened. They turned to chase after them, angrily shouting, "Get back here!"

"What's the matter? Tired?" Greymon taunted happily, rushing back. It didn't take the digidestined long to realize that the pair were just running around to tire out their pursuers. They couldn't dwell on it as their own problems got worse. The Gazimon were still trying to get through the wall but now seemed to realize that there were more than one gaping hole in it. They split up to try and get through to the other side. The five of them together could easily hold them back from funneling through one hole. But there were more entrances than there were of them. So their digimon found themselves juggling between the many entrances in the wall trying desperately to keep the Gazimon out. Birdramon and Kabuterimon took the most since they could easily fly back and forth. Ikakumon was too slow to watch more than one, which left Garurumon and Togemon to hold the rest of them. Matt readied his knife to protect them if any got past their digimon. He was roughly the same size as the Gazimon, but they were better fighters.

"Come on! What are you all doing? Catch those idiots already! There's only two of em! Ya'll are making us look bad!" Etemon groaned to his subordinates. The pair of them continued to run back and forth through the attacking digimon who helplessly pursued.

"We're trying!" one of the Gazimon shouted, "He's not making it easy!"

"That's it! I'll give them a few bars of my latest hit! CONCERT CRUSH!" Etemon smirked, adjusting his guitar and strumming the strings. He ran his fingers along the strings with such passion and speed to produce a fevered rock melody. The music was beautiful to listen to at first. Then Sora started getting nauseous. She noticed Joe already collapsing on the ground, throwing up the food they'd eaten earlier. Mimi looked ready to do the same, while Izzy and Matt appeared uneasy. Their digimon slowed down, still fighting but with less energy than they did before. It didn't take long for some of the Gazimon to start grouping around them, trying to take advantage of their weakened state. Too weak to continue, their digimon were forced to give the Gazimon some ground so that they could catch their breath. The kids did the same, staying behind their digimon to avoid the fighting.

Far behind the wall, they could no longer see what was going on beyond it, except for the image of Etemon still strumming his guitar. He continued playing skillfully, "Yeah! How do you like my new piece? I'm thinking of workin' in some lyrics! Maybe release it as a single for the screaming fans! Hey, what do you two think you're doing to m-"

His voice cut off and the image continued speaking without words. The music died as well, and Etemon furiously stamped his feet on the ground. The nausea passed and their digimon were reinvigorated. However, the Tyrannomon were already formed along the wall, tearing it apart piece by piece for more of the Gazimon to run in. In the center, a single Tyrannomon screamed as he came aflame and turned to data. Greymon appeared behind him and cleared the wall in a single leap, landing atop some unsuspecting Gazimon and crushing them under foot.

"How's that?" Tamer shouted, hopping off his head and landing softly on the ground beside them. He signaled to Sora and she nodded, "Okay, time for the next part of the plan!"

"Right back away slowly," Birdramon repeated. She came in close and swiped the ground as she flew by with her talons, knocking aside the Gazimon that were already in the village. Kabuterimon and Togemon covered the area in front of them with a mix of electricity and needles shocking the attacking digimon, leaving Garurumon and Ikakumon free to pick off those who made it past.

Eventually, the Tyrannomon broke through the wall and began their rampage through Koromon Village. Some of the Gazimon started rushing into nearby tents and houses, taking what they wanted and destroying everything else. Then the unexpected happen.

A small group of Gekomon, Otamamon, and Frigimon appeared to help fight back. The Frigimon in the lead shouted, "This is our home! Get out of here!"

"Alright!" Izzy cheered, "It looks like the cavalry's arrived!"

"Yeah! Go get them!" TK shouted his support. The Gekomon and Otamamon charged in first against the Gazimon, holding their make shift spears and clubs. Their arms gave them longer reach and more striking power, so their victory was apparent. Until the Gazimon started tearing through them with ease, "Out of our way!"

The Gekomon swung their clubs and waved their spears with all their might, but they were not fighters. The Gazimon moved through their attacks and killed them with ease. A few of the Gekomon emitted a large, mechanical noise from the trombones around their heads that momentarily paralyzed the Gazimon, but it didn't deter the Tyrannomon from stepping on them - killing them all. A Frigimon punched the larger Tyrannomon in the leg and covered it in ice, "Sub Zero Ice Punch!"

The Tyrannomon's leg was frozen in place, so he crashed his claw onto Frigimon from above. The Frigimon turned to a cloud of data beneath the claw, unable to utter a noise before he died. The digidestined hearts sank as they watched each and every single one of the digimon who came to help perish. Mimi especially shrieked, "No! Stop! Stop it!"

Matt covered his little brother's eyes. In turn, TK covered Tokomon's eyes while Matt instructed, "Don't look TK!"

"What the hell are they doing!? What the HELL are you doing!? I told you to get out of here!" the Tamer shouted at them, "Get out of here! While you still have a chance!"

"This is our home! We can't just give it up without a fight!" one of the Otamamon said, "Wrapping Bubble!"

Blasts of water sprayed forth and knocked a Gazimon out cold. For his effort, the Otamamon was killed by another Gazimon. Sora's mouth hung wide open as she watched the digimon of Koromon Village fighting to protect everything they had. And nothing they did mattered, because for every small win there was a major defeat. She tried to call out to her partner, tell her to help. But watching the villagers fall die in battle made her reminded her of Angemon's own defeat. She recalled how some digimon didn't survive the process of reformatting - some simply died. Angemon was far stronger than her partner. What were Birdramon's odds of coming back with her memories? Or of coming back at all?

She looked at the others for some clue on what to do, but could see they were all just as lost. Especially TK, who managed to sneak a peek through Matt's hands only to wish he hadn't. He was hugging Tokomon tighter than ever and had gone completely pale with fear. Even though she hadn't said a thing, Birdramon landed between the two groups to separate them. With a flap of her wings, flames erupted around the attacking Gazimon and they ran around in screaming as they burned. One tripped just feet away from Birdramon and she readied to crush him in her talons. Sora saw Birdramon ready to commit the act and screamed, "Stop!"

Birdramon stopped short and the burning digimon scampered away in terror. The fiery bird looked at Sora quizzically, unsure of why Sora stopped her but their attention was returned to a Gazimon howling in agony. They looked to see the Tamer pinning the Gazimon to the ground and striking it repeatedly. Hit after hit, punch after punch, the Gazimon screaming the entire time. There was a fiery intensity in the Tamer's eyes, a pure malevolence they never expected to see. A few Gazimon came running to his aid but Greymon stood in their path. It took one roar to scare them off.

"What are you doing?" Joe screamed, grabbing a hold of the Tamer and trying to pull him off the now silent Gazimon, "Stop it!"

"Get off me!" the Tamer shoved him back and returned to landing blows on the Gazimon. Joe tried again with Izzy and Matt, and they were finally able to pull him off. But it was too late to save the Gazimon, it's body disappearing to clouds of data. It took all three of them to hold the Tamer back but he was still trying to get back at the body.

"It's over! It's dead!" Matt shouted at him.

"Stop it!" Izzy roared. Tamer only cooled down when the sound of Etemon's voice echoed out, "Alright! Took a minute but looks like our sound is back! Now how about I play you fine folks a nice lullaby to put you to sleep. Uh huh!"

"Tamer! We have to go!" Greymon said to his partner. The Tamer shook his head in refusal, "Not yet, we need to hold out a little longer!"

"We're out of time!" Greymon said, "He's using the Dark Network!"

"Digivolve! You have to go to Ultimate! We need to buy more time!" Tamer shouted at Greymon. Greymon shook his head, "You know I can't."

"DO IT!" Tamer reached into the collar of his jacket and retrieved a necklace. Upon the necklace was a tag adorned with an orange symbol of the sun. He pointed it at Greymon and roared again, "I COMMAND YOU TO DIGIVOLVE!"

"I CAN'T!"

Tamer and Greymon stared at each other angrily against the backdrop of the now burning Koromon Village. After a few tense moments where it seemed like the two would turn on each other, Tamer relented, "Okay, we'll go. Cut them off! Slow them down!"

Greymon faced back against Etemon's digimon and breathed a wall of fire to separate them. The Gazimon stopped in their tracks but the Tyrannomon readily advanced through it. One solid hit was all it took from Greymon to knock one back before he regressed back to Agumon. Matt was the first to call him out on this, "What are you doing? The village is still under attack!"

"And we've run out of time!" Agumon said, grabbing a hold of Tamer and guiding him away, "There's nothing else we can do! Now we have to get out of here before it's too late!"

"But wait! Why are we leaving?" Izzy asked, "What's a Dark Network?"

Their answer came when Etemon strummed his guitar and the earth beneath their feet shook violently. The ground gave way to reveal a web of thick black cables rising from the ground. The web rose high above their heads so that they hovered over the village like clouds. They stopped about fifty feet above and fixed themselves there, crackling with electricity and smoke. Agumon pointed at it, "That's a Dark Network!"

"We have to go!" the Tamer shouted, "Garurumon! Ikakumon! Togemon! Change back!"

"Why?" Garurumon asked. The Tamer rolled his eyes, "Because Birdramon and Kabuterimon can't carry us out! if you stay like that"

"We're abandoning the village?" Joe asked.

"It was too late for the village before we got here," Agumon argued, "And we'l do the same way if we don't leave! Now let's go!"

Etemon strummed his guitar again and the wires hissed with electricity. Garurumon, Ikakumon, and Togemon changed back into their rookie forms without hesitation. Kabuterimon used his hands to carry as many as he could while everyone else rode on Birdramon's back. They flew low to the ground, high enough to avoid hitting any of the digimon below but low enough to not get caught in the web of cables. They could see many villagers below, scrambling in every direction screaming as various Gazimon and Tyrannomon chased them down. A few tried to fight back to little success. The whole time, Mimi looked away with her face buried into Palmon while Matt continued to keep TK's eyes closed. But it didn't silence their screams and it just barely drowned out the strumming of Etemon's guitar. With every note, a bolt of black electricity blasted from the wires and destroyed something on the ground below. A tent. A building. A digimon. The ground. It didn't matter. Everything blasted by one of the bolts disappeared, whether it worked for Etemon or not.

"Keep going!" Tamer instructed, "Don't stop! Just keep flying!"

"But the villagers!" Joe pleaded, "Their homes! Everything's being destroyed!"

"I know!" Tamer said back, "And we're next if we don't keep moving!"

Kabuterimon and Birdramon flew faster, trying to avoid every blast and bolt that came their way. It didn't take long for them to pass over the wall on the other side of the village. They chanced a glance down and saw the villagers looking up in shock, almost in disbelief that they would be abandoned like this. Some called out for help, others sank to their knees and wailed. Only Tamer and Agumon didn't look down, as if not looking would mean they weren't leaving these digimon to their fates.

"DARK NETWORK!" Etemon's voice boomed. There was a bright flash and a sound of thunder, followed by a shockwave so powerful it knocked their two flying digimon out of the sky. They slid along the ground, stopping just shy of the forest with their entire group scattered around them. The impact was enough to knock out both Birdramon and Kabuterimon, turning them back into rookies who lay unconscious. Sora and Izzy tended to their partners first, making sure they were okay but it was the sight behind them that left them mortified. Koromon Village was gone, replaced by a single large column of black smoke rising high into the air. TK was able to catch a glimpse before Matt could cover his eyes, and the shock of the sight had him welling up into tears. Mimi screamed but the others just stood there in mortified silence.

Agumon stated that the Tamer's usual plans tended to involve things blowing up. They didn't expect this. He'd said it'd have to happen, that their focus was to save as many as they could. They'd thought after Angemon's battle with Devimon that they'd be better able to handle something like this. It was a mistake to think that way and the weight of the idea crushed harder than it had before. There was always the chance the digimon who'd died would reformat at Primary Village. At least, that's what they hoped.

The silence and horror of the moment was broken only when the Tamer dusted himself off and readjusted his goggles over his head, "Come on. We have to keep moving."

When nobody reacted, he said again, "We have to go."

"I can't," Mimi mumbled, "I can't do this! Not like this! I don't want to!"

"Fine, stay and die," the Tamer said, "We're not sticking around for Etemon to catch up."

"We're not going anywhere," Gabumon countered, "The whole village. It's gone."

"Yeah, that's what we said would happen," Agumon said, "Not everyone was going to make it out alive. We bought as much time as we could and saved who could be saved. There wasn't anything else we could do."

"You guys are acting like this isn't a big deal! The whole village! All those digimon! They're just…gone," Gomamon accused, "And you guys don't seem to care. And that Gazimon! All those digimon that you killed! Those villagers looked up to you guys and you…you act like you don't care!"

"Don't you dare go there," Tamer said between grit teeth. He had the same look he had when he killed the Gazimon, a terrifying rage that left them too scared to act. There was a tense moment of silence before Sora finally stepped in, "Cool off. Both of you. Now is not the time to be fighting."

Gomamon backed away first, and the Tamer turned away from them. He patted his hair down and adjusted his hood over his face, "We should leave. Now. Before Etemon sends in the rest of his digimon to look for survivors."

"Where are we going to go?" Gabumon asked, "Are we going to join the survivors at ShogunGekomon's palace?"

"No, Etemon won't care about those guys if we're not with them," Agumon said, "We have to go away from them."

"Where else can we go?" Izzy asked, helping Tentomon back up to his feet. Tamer frowned, "To see an old friend. He might be able to help."

Tamer and Agumon marched ahead of them. The group all looked at each other. Mimi was still dumbstruck by the destruction of the village, staring slack jawed in its direction. Palmon nudged her a few times and tried to snap her out of it. Mimi seemed unable to respond, though.

"What do you guys think?" Sora ask, "Should we go with them?"

"They seem to know what's going on better than any of us do," Joe said in their favor.

"Yeah, but they also said that they make it up as they go along," Palmon said, "And we…well, look."

She pointed to the smoldering remains of Koromon Village.

"They said they're getting help. Devimon was strong but he never did anything like that," Tokomon spoke sheepishly, "To be honest, I think sticking with them would be less dangerous than being without them."

"I hate it, but I agree," Gomamon frowned, "I still think they're completely insane, though."

"I think we all feel that way," Sora stated. She looked up and saw that the pair were now some distance away and still walking. The pair either weren't aware that they were leaving them behind, or they didn't care. Without skipping a beat or looking back Tamer shouted, "Are you guys coming or not?"

"What a jerk," Matt frowned.

"Let's go," Sora said, helping Biyomon to stand. It took both Matt and Joe to help Mimi up so that she could walk, still in shock at the sight they'd witnessed. The digidestined and their digimon chased after the Tamer and Agumon. They continued marching on into the wilderness, leaving behind the ruins of Koromon Village. Nobody looked back at the grim reminder of their failure.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** That's all for tonight, dear readers! My next update will be in one week on Friday, January 15th. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section and I'll be sure to respond in a day or two. I also welcome constructive criticism. See you next week!


	12. Piximon

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Thanks again for all the review guys. As a reminder, I'm now responding to all reviews directly through the reply system. Except for guest reviews, speaking of which, here's a quick response.

 **Guest:** I'm guessing your name is Cobalt? I'm not sure. Anyway, thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy tonight's update.

Okay, no more delays. Let's start Chapter 12 of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 12: Piximon**

They walked for what felt like hours. So long that the burnt forest turned to sandy desert. So long that the sun disappeared from the sky and the moon steadily rose to take its place. They each had their own thoughts on what'd transpired. The faces of every villager they couldn't save flashed through their minds - all the digimon who couldn't get out. The look of abandonment, drained of any hope as they watched the digidestined leave. Nobody could forget it. None of them could stop thinking about it. They carried on in silence.

Neither Tamer nor Agumon seemed bothered by it, steadily walking and chatting as if nothing happened. As if they hadn't just witnessed a village full of digimon turned to a smoldering crater. They were tired though. Tired from the battle and walking. Drained from their experiences of the day. Sora could see none of the others wanted to talk to the pair so she asked, "Hey, can we stop and take a break? We're all tired."

"Every second we're not moving is a second Etemon gets to catch up," Tamer said, "We should keep walking."

"My feet are killing me," TK whined, "Can we please just stop for a few minutes?"

"Just keep moving," Tamer said as TK tripped and fell face first in to the ground. Everyone stopped to check their youngest member. Matt and Gabumon helped the little boy up, dusted the sand off of him and declared, "Okay, we're stopping. Now!"

Tamer scanned the horizon to see a cliff face in the distance. It was a good distance away, but they could reach it in an hour if they hurried, "We'll take a break over there."

"No! We're stopping here!" Matt said. Tamer clicked his tongue, "If we stay here, then we're sitting ducks. There'll be some cover by the cliff face, maybe a cave. It's a better resting spot."

"Fine, go! But I'm not going anywhere and neither is TK until we have a break," Matt spat back.

"A break would be nice," Palmon added, "We've been on our feet all day and I don't think Mimi's doing alright."

Mimi hadn't uttered a word or said anything since the destruction of the village and concern was starting to grow in the group. Tamer watched each of them sink to the ground to catch their breath and realized that they weren't budging. He grumbled his frustration and looked to Agumon, "Do you mind?"

"Not at all, it's what I do," Agumon smiled. Tamer pointed his digivice at Agumon and the rookie changed into Greymon in a flash of light. Without any warning, he scooped them all up and placed them on his head. The others rode on his head while Tamer jogged casually beside the giant orange dinosaur, stating, "We'll have to move quick. You stand out like a sore thumb."

Greymon moved so quickly that it produced a welcome breeze to cool them down. The ride was shaky, but they were able to rest so there wasn't much reason to complain. Once they'd arrived, they spent another twenty minutes looking for a cave to hide in for the night. When they weren't able to find anything, Greymon set them down and punched a hole in the wall. He punched the wall a few more times to make it deep before he let them inside, then joined them after he regressed to Agumon. Tamer was the only one who didn't join them, instead standing just outside the cave and gazing out into the desert quietly, "We'll stop here for the night. Get some sleep because we're moving as soon as the sun comes up."

"Who died and made you boss?" Biyomon asked.

"You guys did the moment you decided your plan for saving Koromon Village boiled down to _save those guys, they'll have a plan_ ," Tamer snapped angrily, "If you don't like it, you're welcome to go whenever you want. Or you can stay here, then Agumon and I will go."

"Maybe you should," Gomamon prodded, waddling towards the pair of Agumon and Tamer, "We've done fine on our own."

"What like that time you guys got caught in a trap? Twice?" Tamer asked, pointing at them all, "Ooh, maybe you mean that time you guys got chased through the forest by Shellmon then he got strangled by Seadramon!

"You were the one who needed us to rescue you," Gomamon replied, "That's why you sent out that…video or message or whatever."

"Gomamon! Stop it," Joe pleaded, "They might be our only way back to the Real World!"

"Oh, is that what we are?" Tamer asked, "You're way back to your world? Children chosen to save the Digital World alright."

"Stop fighting," Mimi finally spoke, surprising them all, "Hasn't there been enough fighting for one day? Please! Just…stop. Please…"

Gomamon and Tamer backed away from each other. Gomamon retreated to Joe's side and the digidestined asked, "Okay, how about we all get some sleep? I'll volunteer for first watch!"

"Agumon and I will stay awake," Tamer volunteered, "You guys just get some sleep."

"Are you sure?" Sora asked hesitantly, "We don't mind."

"You're the ones complaining about how tired you are. Go to sleep," Tamer stated, "We've got this."

Nobody wanted to argue with him, because nobody could forget the look of pure unbridled rage on his face earlier. They backed away and tried to get some sleep. But none of them could. They couldn't forget what they'd seen nor could they forget the events of the battle despite how exhausted they were. Only TK and Tokomon appeared capable of sleep because Matt made sure to shield their eyes through most of Koromon Village.

Seconds turned to hours as they all quietly lay on the ground unable to sleep. Agumon quietly paced back and forth at the entrance to the cave while the Tamer fiddled with his old digivice. Izzy curiously looked in his direction and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Shouldn't you be resting?" Agumon looked at him, to which Izzy quietly explained, "I don't think any of us could after what happened."

"I'm checking Etemon's network. Planted a bug on it years back and I don't think he knows it's there. Let's me keep an eye on him so that we can stay out of his sight," Tamer said casually, examining the small screen carefully, "His digimon have already left Koromon Village, going in separate directions. They probably didn't find your bodies and realized we escaped."

" _Your_ bodies?" Izzy said defensively, "Don't you mean _our_ bodies?"

"If Agumon or I were that easy to kill, we'd be dead already," Tamer replied without looking up, "At this rate, old age will get us before any of them do. If you want something done right, do it yourself."

Izzy sat up and moved to join the Tamer, surprised by the last thing he said, "What did you say?"

"I said Agumon and I aren't that easy to kill."

"After that."

"Old age will kill us first?"

"After that. The last part!" Izzy remarked.

"If you want something done right, do it yourself," Tamer stated, still fiddling with his digivice, "There are a group of five digimon moving our way. Monochromon based on the speed."

"But if it's Monochromon, do you think he's coming too? I mean he uses them to pull his stage," Agumon pointed out curiously. Tamer put the digivice away, "All the more reason to get moving when the sun's up."

Izzy continued to stare at him blankly, glancing back into the cave to see the others had turned their heads to better listen in. Izzy could vaguely see Tentomon's silhouette gesturing to keep asking. Izzy complied, "Tamer…do you and Agumon want to die?"

"Of course, why else do you think we're okay with going up against guys like Etemon?" Agumon asked. That statement caught Izzy completely off guard and he was left without any words. His mind raced through everything he could say but he only came up with, "Really?"

"Don't be stupid," Tamer remarked, "Of course we don't want to die! Did you honestly believe that, because if you did you're probably not as smart as you look. It's no wonder you guys walk into traps all the time. If you're the smart one, I'd hate to see what the others are like."

"Tamer, stop it. Take a walk," Agumon interrupted. Tamer grunted his disapproval, but Agumon gave him a stern look that had him rethink it. He sighed and walked out into the darkness, until all that could be heard were his footsteps. Agumon waited a few moments after the foot steps were gone before stating, "I'm sorry he said that. He's testy because of Koromon Village."

"We're bothered about it too, you don't see us biting people's heads off," Izzy pointed out. Everyone quietly nodded in the cave until Agumon said, "Yeah, well, you didn't see everything you've worked for get obliterated in the blink of an eye."

"So he has anger problems," Izzy stated more than asked, "How does someone like that become a chosen child? A digidestined?"

"Child? You know he's not a kid anymore, right? He's like old. Really old," Agumon reminded them.

"You dodged the question."

"Yes I did," Agumon smiled cheerily, "You really should go back to sleep. Tamer will have cooled off when he gets back but he won't be too happy to see you awake."

"Can I ask just one last question?" Izzy asked.

"If you promise that you'll go to sleep."

"How long were you and Tamer following us?"

Agumon stared at Izzy in surprise. He nodded to himself and answered, "You figured that out, huh? You are the smart one. We were following you for a little bit after you arrived. It was hard to miss the bright flash of light in the sky and screams while you guys fell. We would have shown ourselves earlier, but Devimon is the kind of guy who likes to play tricks and manipulate people. That wouldn't have been the first time he made a bunch of kids and digimon appear. We had to be sure."

"I understand. So what are we here to do anyway? Everything we've been told is vague prophecy stuff and I'm tired of it. I think we all are," Izzy stated. Agumon snapped his fingers and pointed at the cave, "Hey, don't forget our deal. I answered your question. Go get some sleep."

Izzy thanked him for talking and lied back down in the cave, trying to sleep. He could see the others staring at him in the darkness, all of them wanted to talk but none of them wanted to give away that they were awake - worried that Tamer would have them moving again. It was impossible to tell how much time passed before they heard soft footsteps in the darkness. Agumon happily whispered, "Welcome back. Feeling better?"

"Yeah," Tamer whispered back, "I'm sorry, Agumon."

"I'm not the one you should apologize to," Agumon said softly, "It's them. You've been snapping at them a lot."

"I do have to," Tamer said, "I tried to force you to digivolve. I yelled at you and let my anger…I'm sorry for what I did. I shouldn't have done that to my best friend."

"I know you don't mean it. They don't know that, though."

"I know. I'll apologize in the morning. After they've had some sleep. They'll need it. It isn't going to get easier. For them or us."

"You say that like we have nothing to do with them."

"It'd be better if we didn't. We could go. Leave the rest of them behind. Two friends against the world. We'd be doing them a favor. Things tend to do a lot of blowing up whenever we're around."

"It's been years and we haven't made much progress on our own. If anything, thing's got worse. Them beating Devimon is probably the first good thing in the Digital World in a long time."

"They're not very good, though. In terms of raw strength, we're on equal levels but the two of us aren't afraid to do what needs to be done. They hesitate. If we're going to stand a chance, they either need to become better fighters, or we need to get you to the Ultimate level."

"They're young and inexperienced compared to us. That's why we're going where we're going, isn't it?"

"You figured that out?"

"How long have we known each other?" Agumon asked rhetorically, "If I had to guess, you're either going back to finish what you started, or to help them get stronger."

"I'd prefer both. But sometimes I wonder if they're better than us _because_ they hesitate. It means they still have a conscience. They're not-," Tamer paused then continued, "You've seen how Gomamon looks at us. He thinks we're monsters."

"I am a monster. A _digital_ monster," Agumon said matter of factly. Tamer laughed softly, "I guess you are. You should get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"I'm fine."

"You need to sleep."

"So do you."

"Not as much or as often as you."

There was silence and then footsteps into the cave. Agumon sat down against the cave wall and mumbled, "Next time, I'm on watch."

* * *

After spending an eternity sitting in the darkness of the cave, they were finally able to drift off to sleep. They awoke a few short hours later when the sun rose and the Tamer shook them all awake, "Sun's up guys. It's time to move!"

Nobody in the group met being awoken with the same enthusiasm he did. Except Agumon who was on his feet right away and doing stretches. TK refused to budge until Matt stood him up, still groggily holding Tokomon in his arms. It took them a little bit longer to get on their feet, but they all expectantly looked at Tamer. None of them forgot what he'd said earlier, but none of them wanted to be the one to bring it up. Tamer looked at them nervously, scratched the back of his head and said, "Look. About last night. I'm sorry about snapping at all of you. I shouldn't have done that, and I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, we're all upset about what happened," Sora answered hesitantly.

"Still, I'm sorry," Tamer seemed like he was trying his hardest to apologize but was struggling to do so. Everyone one of them still had their concerns but they were still willing to go with them. He motioned for them to follow and they started moving.

They walked through the desert in silence, as the sun rose steadily over the horizon and the heat went up with water. They started guzzling water down from thirst, until Joe started rationing it while complaining, "We don't know how long it will be until we get fresh water again! What if we run out! In this desert, we'll die from dehydration!"

"What am I suppose to do Joe?" Gomamon asked, "I'm not meant for the desert. I need the water."

"That doesn't mean we can just start wasting the water so quickly!" Joe defended himself, "We don't know when we'll get more so we need to save what we have."

"We might not have to worry about it much longer, look!" Mimi pointed ahead to a stone well out in the middle of the sandy dunes. Gomamon and Palmon ran straight for it, hurriedly throwing a wooden pail and gasping for a chance at getting more water. Their hearts sank when they heard a clunk at the bottom of the well. Joe took it as his moment to shine, "I told you so, we need to save."

"We don't want a reminder Joe," Matt frowned. Palmon peered into the bottom of the well and saw two glimmers of light below, "There's something down there."

"Is it ice cream?" TK asked. Palmon climbed over the well wall and leapt down into it, startling everyone. Tentomon especially panicked, "Palmon! What are you doing!?"

There were a few moments of worried silence before Palmon shouted, "Poison Ivy!"

Vines wrapped themselves around the rim of the stone well and Palmon propelled herself out at high speed. She landed with a bounce beside Izzy holding two square shaped crystals with symbols embedded in them. One was blue with a symbol shaped like a whirlpool, the other was purple with a symbol shaped like a sideways eight with a dash. She held it out for them and exclaimed, "I saw these at the bottom."

"Whatever they are, they're pretty. I'm keeping these," Mimi snatched them up in her hand and stowed them in her bag. The others were less enthusiastic about Palmon's find. TK slumped over by the side of well, tired and sweaty from their long trek through the desert, "I could go really go for a popsicle right now."

"Ice cream sounds nice," Palmon added, "Or maybe some lemonade would be good too."

The others joined them in thinking of ice cold refreshment which helped them relax, but did little to relieve the heat. Gabumon looked to have the worst of it, panting and gasping for breath from beneath his thick fur. Worried for his partner, Matt suggested, "Y'know, if you're hot, it wouldn't hurt to take off that fur."

Gabumon worriedly replied, "I am not getting naked."

"I didn't mean that!" Matt defended, "I'm just saying that it's kind of warm and it wouldn't hurt to take off that thick fur coat."

Gabumon went a bright shade of pink and clung to his fur, "I'm fine, thanks."

While the pair went back and forth, Sora took note of the Tamer pacing along the sand. He kicked some of it around while mumbling to himself incoherently. He looked so familiar but where had she seen his face before? The question was eating away at her as she struggled for something to tell her she'd known him from somewhere. Tamer would occasionally spin where he was standing and mumble something else. Eventually he groaned and rejoined them by the dried out well.

"I could have sworn there was an entrance around here somewhere," Tamer frowned.

"Entrance?" Izzy asked curiously. Tamer retrieved his digivice again and started looking at the map, "We're at the right spot. So where is it ? I knew I should have written it down."

"It's your own fault for blowing it off," Agumon reprimanded, "So what do we do now?"

"Keep looking," Tamer frowned, sitting on the ground with his legs and arms crossed, "I need a minute to think."

"What are you looking for?" Tentomon asked, "Whatever it is, could you find it faster? I think I'm drying out under this sun."

"It was here," Tamer pointed at a spot on the ground, "I swear, but it's not. I hate it when I'm wrong like that. Makes me look stupid."

"You already look stupid," Agumon pointed out, "You keep wearing those old rags."

"They are a little tacky," Mimi agreed, "We definitely need to get you some new clothes if we get a chance."

Tamer didn't react, massaging his head forehead, "Where was it…where was it…Gragh!"

Tamer scooped up some sand in his hand and threw it out into the desert in frustration. To their surprise, the sand vanished right before their eyes. Tamer and Agumon jumped up right away, "Found it."

Tamer ran to where he'd thrown the sand and put his hand forward. Like the sand, his hand disappeared into thin air and a big grin appeared on his face. He and Agumon continued forward, vanishing before their very eyes. The others stared in disbelief at where the Tamer and Agumon weren't. Then Tamer's head appeared floating in thin air, "Are you guys coming?"

"How are you doing that?" Sora asked.

He replied, "It'll be faster if you walk through the gate. Come on! And have some fruit, you look famished."

An apple appeared out of thin air and flew towards Mimi, who stared at in awe, "No way! It looks so delicious. Do you guys have more?"

"Yes, if you guys would just walk through the gate already," Tamer said, his head disappearing. They followed his steps, walking to where he'd stood and continued walking to find the air growing thicker and cooler. They now found themselves standing in the middle of a jungle, overgrown with all manner of plant life and trees. There was a mountain in the distance, shrouded by mist and casting a shadow that hid the sun. Tamer and Agumon waited for them, holding a bundle of fruit in their arms. Izzy spoke out every thought he had at the wonder that appeared before them, "But…how? How could this possibly be hidden in the desert!? Was this always here or did we walk through a gate to another dimension?"

"Haven't you learned by now to stop applying common sense to the Digital World?" the Tamer asked, "It only hurts your head. Also, it's an illusion - once you step past it, you see what's concealed beneath. It looks like desert, but it's actually an oasis."

Agumon tossed an apple to Biyomon, "Eat up! You guys look hungry."

They didn't need telling twice. They were only now just remembering how little they'd eaten and how hungry they were, and happily helped themselves to the food. Sora was the only to pocket the apple she'd been given, not having much appetite after what happened. As they ate, Palmon noticed a structure atop the mountain in the distance and asked, "Whoa! Is that what I think it is!?"

"What do you think it is?" Agumon asked back. The others were looked in the same direction as Palmon and Tentomon answered, "Piximon's training grounds! Where all of the great digimon warriors train!"

"That's it," Tamer said, marching ahead of them, "I knew it was around here somewhere. Don't just stand there! Come on! Let's go say hi!"

"You guys know Piximon?" Biyomon asked with awe. Agumon smiled, "We trained under him. Or we tried. You're looking at two of his failed students."

"That's depressing," Biyomon's shoulders slumped, to Agumon and the Tamer's disappointment.

"Who's Piximon?" Sora looked to her partner for an explanation.

"Piximon is an old digimon! They say he's a skilled fighter who helps digimon train and become stronger!" Biyomon offered, "But few have ever met him and even fewer get to be trained by him."

"Is he that good?" Sora asked. Biyomon shrugged, "Well, do you remember Kuwagamon? Well, the stories go that he fought three at the same time and won without breaking a sweat!"

"Wow! He must a super strong digimon! But no one could be as strong as Tokomon!" TK said with admiration in his eyes. Matt patted his little brother on the head, "Slow down there. Did we travel all this way just to get training from Piximon?"

"More or less," Tamer said, "But whether or he wants to train you guys is his decision. It's also your decision if you want to be trained."

They each had their own assumptions about Piximon and were anxious to meet this great digimon. If he was anywhere near as strong as they claimed, and could train them, maybe they wouldn't fail as badly as they did with Etemon at Koromon Village. Their trek through the jungle brought them to the base of the mountain where they found a long staircase that twisted and curved with the slope of the mountain, all the way to the very top.

"No way, we have to climb that!?" Matt pointed at the mountainous slope in disbelief, "That's insane! We'll never make it to the top!"

"Not with that attitude," Agumon said encouragingly, "Come on, it's only a couple of thousand steps."

"That's insane," Izzy frowned, "You expect us to climb that?"

"No sweat! Biyomon and I can just fly you guys up there," Tentomon suggested. Everyone took some comfort in that idea until Agumon shot them down, "Don't. Anyone who flies up there gets kicked down the mountain by Piximon personally. He doesn't like cheaters or people who take the easy way."

"So we have to walk it?" Joe slumped, looking up at the height they'd have to travel, "That's insane."

"No time like the present! Here we go!" Tamer jumped, running ahead with Agumon up the stairs.

"They're going to tire themselves out like that," Matt commented as the two disappeared around a bend. Sora sized each step, then examined the distance to the top of the mountain. She sighed, "Well, we better get walking. The longer we put this off, the later it'll get."

"Man, my feet are already killing me," Joe groaned.

"Come on Joe, where was that can do spirit back at Koromon Village?" Gomamon asked.

"That was different," Joe frowned, trudging ahead of the rest of the group without realizing he was currently in the lead, "I mean, we were trying to help then. This looks like help, yeah, until you realize that all that's waiting for us at the top is more work."

"Probably more work," Gomamon countered, "Piximon will be the one to decide if he wants to train us."

"As much as he's complaining, do you think he realizes he's in front? Or that he's the only one not out of breath," Mimi asked as they followed along. Everyone shook their heads in agreement as they kept walking. Each step was easy at first, but the higher they climbed the worse each one looked. The further along they climbed, the more they noticed both Gomamon and Joe pulling ahead completely lost in their discussion. Mimi and Palmon ended up falling behind the others, so Izzy, Tentomon, Sora and Biyomon slowed their pace so that the two could keep up.

"You didn't have to wait for little old me, Izzy," Mimi teased.

"I'm just trying to help," Izzy maintained bashfully to Sora and Biyomon's amusement.

"By the way Sora, did you ever ask him?" Mimi looked at the tomboy hopefully. Sora shook his head, "There really hasn't been a good time. I mean between Koromon Village, running for our lives, and all the arguing, it never seemed like a good time to bring it up."

"Ask him what?" Tentomon asked.

"Sora thinks she recognizes the Tamer," Mimi explained.

"Of course you recognize him, he saved us at the manor," Tentomon added.

"No, I mean before then," Sora frowned, "I feel like I know him from somewhere. I just can't place it. It's been bugging me for a while."

"You could ask right now," Izzy stated. Biyomon was the one to point out, "We could, if they hadn't run ahead of us."

"Now that you mention it, it's been a while since we've seen them. Do you think they're waiting for us at the top?" Palmon looking ahead to see Joe and Gomamon still going back forth. Tamer and Agumon were nowhere to be seen, and wouldn't be seen again until they got to the very top of the stairs. Tamer and Agumon were standing there with their backs to them. They could just barely make out the end of Tamer's sentence, "-vor, please."

"How…are you guys…not tired?" Izzy asked between gasps for breath. Tamer saw them and smiled, "Oh, about time you guys caught up. To answer your question: accelerated cardiovascular system, three lungs, transdimensional brain, eight or so lives. One of those was the truth. I forget which one though."

"Diet, exercise, and years of practice running with this guy," Agumon added.

"You…guys…suck," Matt heaved, on all fours and desperately trying to keep from passing out.

"These are the digidestined?" a new voice said, "I've heard that you were strong enough to defeat Devimon but all I see is complete disappointment! The way you are, it's a miracle you didn't become digital dinners!"

"Wha-?" The group looked up to see a little pink fuzz ball with wings holding a spear staring down at them disapprovingly. Even though she was dead tired, Mimi shot up right away and hugged the little fuzz ball, "Oh wow! He's so adorable!"

"That adorable fuzzball insulted us, didn't he?" Tentomon frowned.

"That adorable fuzzball is Piximon!" Biyomon pointed out. Mimi continued to squeeze the little fuzzball, "No way! Cute and strong! He's perfect."

"Mimi," Izzy and Palmon sighed in disbelief. Piximon wriggled out of Mimi's arms and buzzed around the group, "Hmph. You digimon are tired after a little climb like that? Pathetic. I want to see guts!"

"Don't we get points for enthusiasm?" Gomamon asked.

"Enthusiasm will do you no good when your enemies are staring you down, ready to finish you off!" Piximon scolded, "As you are now, you don't stand a chance against any of the digimon who threaten our world! It's no wonder Koromon Village was destroyed!"

"We're trying!" Palmon pleaded.

"Trying is not enough. I've got bad news for you: If you don't have what it takes, then the Digital World is doomed. Just like Koromon Village!"

"Will you stop bringing that up? It's depressing Joe frowned.

"Then how about some good news?" Piximon asked.

"How can the news possible get better?" Sora frowned.

"I've decided to train you! All of you! And I've got a special training regimen in mind for each and everyone of you!" Piximon smiled with a self satisfactory grin, "Yup yup! That's the truth! Now come with me! We've got some training to do."

Piximon started humming a song rhythmically while marching on the ground. Everyone exchanged glances and groaned. Matt specifically looked at his little brother and asked, "Can't we take a break first?"

"WILL YOU HURRY UP!" Piximon shouted at them. Everyone begrudgingly picked themselves up off the ground and tiredly followed Piximon into his home. It was a large five story circular building with a courtyard in the center containing a large statue of Piximon. Piximon guided them through the courtyard, happily pointing at the statue and remarking, "What do you think? Handsome isn't he?"

"Yeah, it's…nice," Sora mumbled her description of this massive manifestation of Piximon's ego. When their stomach's growled, she asked, "You wouldn't happen to have anything to eat here, would you?"

"You just ate," Agumon pointed out.

"Yeah, cause I'd be full after an apple," Sora's answer was sarcastic.

"Ah yes, I do! But first you must earn it!" Piximon smiled excitedly. He waved his spear around and made buckets of water, cleaning supplies, mops, and rags appear in front of them.

"What! You're going to make us clean for our food?" Gabumon said hungrily. Piximon waved his finger, "Discipline will be an important part of your training. Learning to go without and completing all tasks set before you! Now get cleaning! Except you two."

Piximon pointed specifically at Sora and Biyomon, floating ahead of the group, "Come with me so that we can begin your special training."

"Our special training?" Biyomon repeated quietly, "What do you have planned?"

"That's up to you," Piximon said with an evil smirk, "Come along! And the rest of you! Don't skip on the wax."

"Piximon," Tamer said, "Could Agumon and I go first?"

"I said clean," Piximon repeated. Tamer stamped the ground and ran ahead of Piximon to stop them, "Piximon! Listen! Let us go first! I know we haven't been on the best terms since we left, but that doesn't mean we're not willing to try again. Besides, we've done this before so we know what to expect. We'll be in and out in no time."

Although there was a size difference, it was obvious Piximon was unmoved by Tamer's words and floated up to his face, "You already had your chance to use it. You failed to learn anything and left without completing your training. You don't get to decide that you can just go back in because of what happened in Koromon Village. You made your decision. Live with it. If it's a question of staying, you're welcome to stay as long as you like. I expect you to clean if you expect to be eating."

Piximon pushed past Tamer, motioning for Sora and Biyomon to continue following. Tamer grunted and picked up a wash cloth to wipe down some of the walls. The others stared at him quietly before taking cleaning supplies of their own. They started cleaning the walls, the floors, guard rails, nooks, crannies, and every inch of the building they could find. While they did, Mimi complained, "This is hard. I've never cleaned anything before."

"It's a simple task, Mimi," Izzy offered, "I'm sure even you can pick it up."

"This guy reminds me of a gym teacher I had once," Matt frowned.

"Tokomon! Let's race!" TK said to his partner. Both of them were on the ground wiping the floor, and Tokomon perked up excitedly at the prospect of turning a chore into a game. The two of them took off down a hallway into the building making car noises with their mouths, a sight that lightened the mood for all of them. They all chatted idly while they were cleaning, except for Tamer who'd made a point of cleaning on the opposite side of the building.

"So, Agumon, is there a reason that Tamer isn't cleaning with us?" Joe asked curiously.

"It's _The Digimon_ Tamer," Agumon reminded them, "And he's sulking. He'll get over it. Just give him some space."

"What was he talking about earlier, anyway? You guys wanted to train first, but what is the training?" Gomamon added to the list of questions. Agumon frowned, "You'll have to ask him. We did the training together but it had different effects on us. It's not for me to talk about."

"But your his partner," Mimi pointed out, "So you can tell us, right?"

"I'm his friend," Agumon countered, "And friends don't talk about friends behind their backs."

"He has a funny way of showing his friendship," Palmon commented, watching the Tamer continue to clean the other side of the building by himself.

* * *

Sora and Biyomon followed Piximon out of the building into an expansive backyard filled with more trees and grass. If it weren't for the Piximon statues, she'd have thought they were in the forest again. Piximon led them to a cave mouth and pointed to it, "You're training will begin in there."

"What's in there?" Sora asked. Piximon smiled, "That's up to you! The key to growing stronger is learning to over come and rise above. Go in to the cave."

"Okay, everything about this sounds like a trap," Biyomon remarked, "We're not going in there."

"Then let me give you some encouragement," Piximon waved his spear again, and the two found themselves thrown into the cave mouth by an unseen force. They found themselves falling into an ever deepening darkness, all the while screaming in terror. Over their screams, they could hear Piximon's voice echoing to them, "It's up to you to find your way out! That is your training!"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** How's that for a cliffhanger? That's all for tonight, dear readers! My next update will be in one week on Friday, January 22nd. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section and I'll be sure to respond in a day or two. Unless you leave a guest review. Then I'll reply at the next update. I also welcome constructive criticism, and guesses on what will happen next time. See you next week!


	13. Sora Remembers

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** And we're back! Thanks to all the lovely people who left reviews and favorited the work. To all of you joining us, thanks for stopping by and reading! I think this makes 13 consistent on time updates. As a side note, you may notice we now have a cover image. That was made by reader Ace Spiritwell, who I want to give a big shout out and thanks to! Go read their fan fiction and check out their deviantart account. Let's get the ball rolling on Chapter 13.

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 13: Sora Remembers**

Sora stirred to the sound of her partner's voice, "Sora! Sora wake up!"

"I'm awake," she sat up and took in their surroundings. They were in a thick fog in a gray landscape as far as the eye could see. She vaguely remembered falling into a cave when Piximon pushed her and Biyomon into it. If they were still in the cave, how could she see? It should have been pitch black but she could see the flat landscape around her. It reminded her of the fog around the Bakemon church and she worried, "If we see another Bakemon, I'm kicking Piximon in the face."

"Where are we?" Biyomon asked, "We can't still be in the cave. It's too bright!"

"No idea," Sora answered, looking around for any source of light. The fog was so thick that she couldn't see anything resembling a sun, moon, or anything bright enough to light up the world around. She sighed, "Piximon said we'd have to find a way out. Let's get going."

* * *

Day turned to night while everyone cleaned, and Piximon provided them dinner as promised. The meal was nothing special - bowls of soup that resembled gruel, slices of bread and cheese, cuts of ham, and cups of tea. They were so hungry after all their work that they were happy to have anything to eat. Once they had their fill, they retired to a large bedroom prepared by Piximon. He filled it with futons, blankets, and soft pillows for them to rest on. Everyone except for Tamer who wandered off into the night. They were able to sleep easy after the day's work, but Izzy stayed awake to work on his laptop. Matt awoke because of the sound of clicking and asked, "Izzy, what are you doing still awake?"

"Making more notes," Izzy said without looking up from his screen.

"Of what?" Matt asked.

"Everything Tamer and Agumon said," Izzy answered, "As well as the fact that the Digital World is capable of concealing entire environments through some form of illusory magic, or perhaps a specialized camouflage device designed to alter light refraction in a-"

"You're doing that thing where you talk funny and no one understands what you're saying," Matt interrupted. Izzy paused and looked at him, "Sorry. Honestly? I'm trying to distract myself. Sora and Biyomon never came back from Piximon's training."

"Yeah, and Piximon sure seemed like he was in a rush to get them away from us," Matt added, "Do you think he did something to them?"

"We don't really know much about Piximon. He may have, he may not."

"It looks like Tamer isn't here either."

"Yeah, but I think he's proven he can take care of himself."

"That's not what I meant. How do we know he didn't have anything to do with it?"

Matt's question gave Izzy something to think about quietly. He was right. They were putting a lot of faith in a kid they barely knew. Matt crawled out of his bed and tiptoed around the others to the door, "Well, I'm not just going to sit here waiting. I'm going to look for Sora and Biyomon."

"Shouldn't you bring Gabumon? In case something happens," Izzy looked at the sleeping digimon resting his eyes under the bed. Matt waved him off, "Let them sleep. I'll only be out for a minute."

"Then I'll go with you," Izzy closed his laptop and set it down, "It'll be safer if the two of us go together."

"Whatever floats your boat," Matt shrugged. The two crept out of the room and around the building, inspecting every room in search of their friends. They spread out to search the grounds when they found nothing in the building. There was no sign of either Sora or Biyomon. After searching for an hour, Matt groaned, "They can't have just vanished. They have to be here somewhere."

"I agree, things don't just disappear," Izzy reasoned, "Perhaps there's a hidden room or even a secret area that we missed."

"I'm starting to think Piximon really did something," Matt worried, "But wherever they are, they're not here."

"Of course not. They're at Piximon's special training."

The two boys jumped and turned to see the Tamer standing there with his arms folded, staring sternly at the two in the dark. Matt backed away from him so that he was beside Izzy and asked, "How long were you-"

"I've been here the whole time, you two just didn't notice," Tamer said annoyed, "I was taking a walk to kill time when you guys showed up. What are you two doing out of bed anyway? Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"We were looking for Sora and Biyomon," Izzy explained. The Tamer rolled his eyes and waltzed around them, "They're in Piximon's training. They could be done tonight; they could be out in a month. It all depends on them."

"Sounds suspicious if you ask me. What kind of training takes that long?" Matt asked. Tamer smirked cynically and locked eyes with Matt, "Let me ask you something. If I showed you your greatest fear, would you face it? Think about it. The thing you hate the most. It makes your heart race, your mind go blank with fear, your body freezes in terror. What would would you do?"

"What's that have to do with anything!?" Izzy demanded. Tamer ignored him and continued, "They'll come back when they've completed the training. You guys should get some rest. Who knows when it'll be your turn? You don't want to be tired when it is."

"What about you?" Izzy asked, "Aren't you going to sleep?"

"Why would I waste my time lying on the ground with my eyes closed," Tamer said rather than asked, "I mean, if you really think about it, people spend eight hours a day doing nothing but sleep. That's a third of their lives! I tried it once. Looking at the back of my eyelids was boring! There's a whole world out there that needs experiencing. I can't do that if my eyes are closed."

"Does that include staying at Piximon's training grounds to act like a maid?" Matt asked sarcastically, to the Tamer annoyance. Tamer nodded and wandered off, "Go to bed. There's a long day ahead tomorrow."

The two boys swapped nervous glances and retreated back to the bedroom Piximon provided. Neither of them commented on what the Tamer said about their worst fear, because neither were certain what he'd meant by that - whether it was a cryptic warning or him being weird. And he'd been very weird until now.

* * *

Sora and Biyomon continued through the fog, tired and hungry from countless hours spent walking aimlessly. They didn't know how far they'd gone. All they knew was that they weren't making any progress. They continued walking while Biyomon whined, "Sora? Can we stop for a minute? I'm tired."

"That sounds like a good idea," Sora sat down on the cold hard ground, "I'm not sure if we're getting closer to the exit or not."

"After we're done resting, I'll digivolve and see if we can fly out of here," Biyomon suggested, sitting down beside her. The fog thinned while they rested, and several huts and tents came into view around them. Sora was surprised they didn't walk into any of them, but even more surprised that they failed to notice any of it until now. Through the fog, she could see a group of digimon approaching - Gekomon, Koromon, Otamamon, and Gotsumon. Digimon from Koromon Village. Sora shot up right away and waved, "Guys! You're alive!"

"Run! Etemon's coming!" one of the Gekomon screamed just as he was crushed by a black cable emerging from the ground beneath him. Etemon appeared behind them, slowly stalking his way in their direction. The other digimon screamed and continued running past Sora without stopping. One of them shouted, "I thought they were going to protect us! Where are they!?"

Sora paused when she heard that, looking again at her surroundings. She didn't realize it before, but they were standing in Koromon Village. So then who were these digimon? Survivors of the Dark Network attack? Etemon moved closer and she heard herself say, "Birdramon! Do something! Help them!"

She spun around in place and saw…

Herself.

Another Sora standing there. Birdramon flew past the two Soras and tackled Etemon to the ground. Birdramon used her razor sharp talons to maul Etemon until he roared, "Dark Network!"

More black cables rose out of the ground to strangle Birdramon. She tried to free herself, but Etemon quickly turned the tables by pinning her to the ground. The cables tore at her flesh as they tightened, cutting deep enough to bleed everywhere. Etemon laughed as Birdramon's eyes bulged and her bones broke. The other Sora ran out to her screaming, "Birdramon! No! Leave her alone!"

Etemon turned to face the other Sora and laughed ecstatically as she ran for Birdramon. He grabbed her by the neck then took his time beating her while she tried to free herself. There was a loud crack as Birdramon's body finally broke under the cables and she dissipated into data. Like Angemon before her, Birdramon had died. The other Sora wasn't even able to mourn her as Etemon continued to beat her. When he finally let her go, she sank to the ground and lay there bleeding. She did absolutely nothing as Etemon crushed her head beneath his foot, leaving only a mangled body lying in a pool of blood. Etemon then turned his attention to her, the real Sora, and she began backing away fearfully.

"Sora?" Biyomon tugged at her gloved hand. Sora looked at her partner and saw the concern in her eyes. She opened her mouth to tell her to digivolve, but she couldn't. She didn't want her to die the way the other Birdramon did. But she knew that if she did nothing, they'd die the same way.

"Sora, you look like you've seen a ghost. What's wrong?" her partner asked. Sora looked back at Etemon and found he'd vanished. Everything was gone. No Etemon, no buildings, no running digimon, no dead Sora, nothing. It was all gone. She looked around them and saw nothing but dense fog in all directions, "You didn't see that?"

"See what?" Biyomon asked, "You just stood up and started freaking out."

"We were at Koromon Village! Etemon was killing digimon, then you and I showed up," Sora hesitated to say the next part, "Then we died fighting him."

"What are you talking about?" Biyomon patted her partner, "There was nothing here. I think we should keep looking for that exit now. This fog is starting to get into your head."

"Yeah, you're right," Sora slowly retrieved her digivice, "Ready?"

"Ready! Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

Biyomon changed into her champion form and Sora climbed onto her back. She spread out he wings and tried to fly, then crashed into some invisible barrier above them. She fell to the ground with a thump. Sora clung to her feathers for dear life as they slid along ground to a halt. Sora climbed off her partner and asked, "Birdramon! Are you okay?"

"Yeah? What was that?" Birdramon asked. Sora shrugged, "I don't know, but I don't think we'll be flying anywhere."

"I'm tired of walking," Birdramon complained, regressing back to Biyomon, "What kind of training is this? All we've done is walk and you've had a hallucination. How long are we going to be stuck here?"

"I don't know but I hate it," Sora groaned.

"I hate it! I don't want to go!" Sora heard herself say. She turned around again and saw a younger version of herself, standing there between her parents and holding their hands. She must have been about seven or eight years old, dress in black formal clothes. The younger Sora was upset, not yet crying but she looked ready to. Her parents also wore black clothes. Clothes Sora never remembered wearing, but she did remember this moment specifically. Both of her parents looked at the young Sora then each other.

"Biyomon, I think I'm seeing things again," Sora commented. Biyomon looked in the same direction and confirmed what she saw, "No, I'm seeing it too. Either we're sharing a hallucination, or that's actually happening."

"It's not fair," the younger Sora's voice trembled. Sora's mother kneeled down and placed her hands on the young Sora's shoulders, "It isn't. But sometimes in life, these things happen. I know you're sad and that's okay. Being sad means that you really cared for your friend. But remember things will get better. They always do."

"So he'll come back?" the younger Sora asked. Her mother became uneasy, "Sora. I'm sorry. He's never coming back. That's why there's a funeral. To say goodbye."

"I don't want to say goodbye!" the young Sora shrieked, "You said things get better!"

"I know what I said," Sora's mother interrupted her, "Sora, this funeral isn't just to say good-bye to your friend. It's for his family, his parents and his sister. You remember Kari, right?"

"Yeah," the younger Sora nodded as her father spoke up, "I know you're sad because you lost a friend. But his family lost a son. Kari lost her brother. So if you won't go to say good-bye, then at least go for Kari. So she'll know you cared and so it'll make it easier on her."

The younger Sora looked at her mother, then her father, and nodded sheepishly. She held their hands as they guided her away into the fog, vanishing as quickly as they'd come. Sora continued to stare in the direction the phantoms had gone, until her partner called for her attention, "Sora? You're squeezing my hand too hard."

Sora looked down and saw she was indeed squeezing her partner's hand. She let it go and apologized, "I'm sorry."

"What happened Sora?" Biyomon asked worriedly. Sora realized a lump formed in her throat and swallowed it, "My friend never came back."

* * *

The digidestined and their digimon sat patiently on the floor with their arms and legs folded in meditation like monks. Piximon insisted that they meditate as part of their training, although why and what about were questions he left unanswered. Matt complained that he thought training would involve more fighting but Piximon said before they could become stronger physically, they needed to become stronger mentally. Everyone was present for the training except for Tamer who was still cleaning around the building with Agumon. As much as they hated cleaning, they would all rather be doing that instead of sitting here in silence pretending to be doing whatever Piximon had them doing.

Piximon picked up on this and pointed at Joe, "You! Stop staring out the window and focus on your meditation."

"That would be so much easier if I knew what I'm supposed to be meditating on," Joe said dryly, annoying Piximon, "And how come those two don't have to do this meditation?"

"Those two don't need this training," Piximon explained, "They don't need my help or my tutelage."

"It sounded like they did earlier," Gabumon commented, earning him a smack on the head from Piximon's spear, "As I explained to them before, they made their decision when they decided to leave the training. They don't get to just step back into it. They must prove they can do it."

"They want to do this? Sit? It's not that hard! Why do they have to prove that they can sit?" Tentomon pointed out. Piximon sighed, "This training has never been about developing physical strength. Anyone can get stronger physically. Just go to a gym or start jogging. No no! That's not what this training is for. Yup yup!"

"Suddenly, that thing the Tamer said last night makes sense," Izzy mumbled. Piximon pointed his spear at him, "No more talking during your meditation."

Everyone fell silent and continued pretending to meditate, although their minds all wandered to other things.

* * *

Sora and Biyomon continued wandering through the thick fog, while Sora explained the story about her friend, "A few years back, I had a friend. His name was…Tai. We always hung out and played soccer together. One day he disappeared. I don't really remember what happened. I was really young back then. The police looked for a long time, but eventually gave up when they said there were no more clues. Our families were close at the time, so we were invited to the funeral. My parents said it was to say good-bye, but I didn't want to. I didn't want to think my friend was dead and I thought that if I didn't say it, then it wouldn't be true. That maybe he'd just show up one day out of the blue, alive and smiling."

Biyomon looked at her apologetically as she continued, "But he never came back. After all that time, I couldn't accept it so I forgot it. I haven't thought about it for a long time, because forgetting it was easier. Thinking back, I was hurting myself by doing that. I just...couldn't deal with it."

"Well, you can deal with it now," Biyomon offered her encouragingly. Sora's answer was meek, "I don't think I want to."

"I don't want you to go, Sora," she heard her mother say. Sora and Biyomon spun around and saw another younger Sora with her mother. This Sora wore a soccer uniform while her mother dressed in a more traditional kimono. Her mother attentively tended to a pot with flowers while the young Sora whined, "Mom! I have to play! My friends are counting on me!"

"I know you want to Sora, but your father and I don't have the time to take you," her mother said, "I have to work the shop and your father has his work at the university."

"That's an excuse! You could make time!" the younger Sora protested. Sora's mother continued arranging the flowers but paused briefly to say, "I just don't want you to go alone Sora. After what happened, I'd feel more comfortable if one of us were there to watch you. Why not sit here with me and help me with these flower arrangements?"

"I don't want to arrange flowers! I want to go play soccer! You said you wouldn't let me go alone, so come with me!"

"Honey, I'm busy."

"Make time!"

"Sora, I said no. I won't lose you."

"Nothing's going to happen!" the younger Sora said.

"That's what they said before the explosion!" her mother told her, "And look at what happened! My no is final! End of discussion!"

"I'm not going to let my friends down!" the younger Sora shouted, "I'm going!"

She grabbed her soccer gear and started running away, while her mother shouted at her, "Sora! Come back!"

"No! I HATE YOU!" the young Sora said before vanishing into the fog. Sora's mother also faded away into nothing, leaving only Sora and Biyomon standing there. This time, Biyomon spoke first, "Sora, was that another memory?"

"Yeah, it was," Sora said, "That was the day my mom and I stopped talking to each other."

"Why?" Biyomon perked her head up.

"It's silly thinking about it now," Sora mumbled, "After my friend disappeared, we moved to another neighborhood. I still played soccer though and we had a game that day. I wanted to go but neither of my parents could take me. They didn't want me to go alone because...because they were worried I'd go the same way my friend did. I went anyway and when I got there, I found out the game was already over and we lost because I wasn't there."

"Do you still hate your mother?" Biyomon asked her. Sora frowned, "I don't, but it's been hard to talk to her ever since. But it's my own fault. She only cared about me and wanted to do what was best for me. I just didn't want to see things from her point of view."

Once again, buildings came into view around them. They were standing in Koromon Village again, and the inhabitants came running towards them screaming. Etemon rampaged from behind them, killing anyone unfortunate enough to lag behind. Sora and Biyomon watched the scene play out, "Sora, is this what you saw?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Birdramon! Do something! Help them!" Sora heard her other self shout. Once again, Birdramon swooped down to help, but Etemon turned the tables to kill both Birdramon and the other Sora. Watching her other self and Birdramon die again was just as frightening to watch the second time. Sora gasped as her other self lay there in a pool of her own blood, limbs twisted and mangled. As quickly as the image appeared it vanished. Sora stood there dumbstruck while Biyomon said, "I see why you were so freaked out the first time."

"It played out exactly the same way," Sora mumbled.

"Why that, though?" Biyomon asked, "It can't be a memory because we didn't die."

"You're right, I didn't even think about that," Sora said with realization, "Why are we seeing that?"

"Maybe we're supposed to do something?"

"Like what?"

"Fight back!" Biyomon pumped the air.

"NO!" Sora shouted so loudly that Biyomon shied away, "No! You saw what happened! We'll die! You'll die!"

"Does that mean we shouldn't try?" Biyomon asked. Sora shook her head, "No, it doesn't but…I don't want to lose you. Not the way…"

It dawned on Sora that this was exactly how her mother felt when she refused to take game. She was concerned for her safety, worried that she could lose her daughter the way her friend's family lost their only son. She was now in the same position her mother was in and honestly couldn't bring herself to say the opposite of what her mother said. To go out and put herself at risk of dying. Like Angemon. Like her friend.

* * *

"Okay, I'm bored," Gomamon whined again, earning him a thwack on the head from Piximon, "I said no talking during your meditation."

"You keep saying that, but it just makes me want to talk more," Gomamon rebutted, "How long are we supposed to do this for?"

"Would you rather be outside cleaning with Agumon and The Tamer?" Piximon asked seriously. There was a collective, "YES!"

"Alright then, go clean," Piximon huffed, "But I want my house to sparkle!"

"Sure, why not?" Matt frowned, "You only made us do it yesterday."

They filed outside and Piximon produced more cleaning supplies for them to clean with. They went to work cleaning, glad to no longer have to sit around and pretend to be quiet. Mimi especially enjoyed getting to stretch her legs, "This beats meditation by a long shot."

"I don't think any of us were meditating," Joe commented, "I think I fell asleep for a minute."

"Joe, don't you know something about meditation? You said that weird chant back when the Bakemon attacked," Gomamon brought up. Everyone looked at him expectantly. Joe didn't like suddenly being the center of attention, so he quickly explained, "No, that was just something my grandmother taught me for good grades. I don't think Piximon is actually grading us, he's just making us do his house keeping."

"What did she teach you?" Izzy asked, "Wait! Let me go fetch my laptop."

He ran back to their room to get his bag while Joe explained, "It's just an old sutra that I use to pray for good grades. It goes: Buddham saranam gacchami! Dhammam saranam gacchami! Sangham saranam-"

He was stopped when the Tamer covered his mouth with his hand. He looked exasperated, as if he'd dashed there. The others were caught off guard, Gomamon especially shouting, "What are you doing!?"

"Don't do that," Tamer told him, "Seriously! Don't. It's best not to do that in the Digital World."

"What? Why not?" Matt asked. Joe wriggled free of the Tamer's hold and demanded, "What was that for!?"

"Just don't do it," Tamer said again, "Believe me, don't. That sutra calls for good graces from higher beings. That tends to be more literal in the Digital World. And you don't want those higher beings showing up."

"Why not?" Palmon demanded more seriously, "I think getting some help would be useful!"

"Did I hear someone praying to me?" Piximon suddenly appeared, floating behind both Joe and Tamer. Tamer sighed, "That's why."

"So, who was asking for my blessing?" Piximon asked excitedly, "I knew you had it in you to learn meditation! And you did! So…who wants my good grace?"

"It was Boe," Tamer shoved Joe forward, practically pushing Joe under the bus.

"It's Joe!" Gomamon said with frustration, "Why can't you get anyone's names right?"

"Why can't any of you get mine right?" Tamer's retort only made Gomamon angrier.

"Well then Joe! It's your lucky day! Because I bless upon you the right to go next when Sora and Biyomon come back from their training. Which should be any minute now!" Piximon said with a smile.

"Wait, what!? WHAT!?" Joe panicked, "Hang on! How is that a blessing?"

"I warned you," Tamer frowned, resting his arms behind his head.

* * *

Again and again, the scene replayed before them. Etemon would attack Koromon Village, then kill the other Birdramon and Sora. Each time, Sora hesitated and refused to send Biyomon in to help. It never became any easier to watch. Biyomon always wanted to go out and fight, but Sora couldn't muster the courage to let her. She didn't want to see her die for real.

"Sora! We have to at least try to help them!" Biyomon proclaimed. Sora spat back, "Not if that means losing you!"

Finally, a different scene came into view. It was the younger Sora wearing black formal clothes. She was sitting on the ground beside another child, an even younger girl dressed in dark clothes. They weren't black, just muted dark colors. The little girl was crying beside the younger Sora, who could only offer her a hand on her shoulder.

"He…can't be…he's not!" the tiny girl sobbed. The younger Sora seemed at a loss for words to console her but tried anyway, repeating what her mother told her, "This funeral is to help you say goodbye."

"I'm not saying bye!" the little sister snapped, "I won't! He's not dead!"

The younger Sora pulled away to let the sister sob. Sora remembered this from the funeral. Her friend's sister had run away and hid from the proceedings. Everyone went looking for her and Sora found her hiding away in a broom closet, quietly crying. She'd been in denial, just as much as the younger Sora, about the fact that her brother was dead. She didn't want to admit to herself that he was dead. The younger Sora shrank away as the little sister continued crying, "What do I say?"

"You tell her the truth," Sora said to herself. To both her and Biyomon's surprise, the younger Sora reacted by turning to face them, "Who are you?"

"You can see us?" Sora asked, confused and alarmed by the fact that she was talking to a younger version of herself. The younger Sora nodded, "Yeah, why are you guys here?"

"We're just as confused as you are," Biyomon told the younger Sora, "But she needs help."

"I know, but I don't know what to do," the younger Sora looked back at the little sister, still crying into her hands.

"You have to try," Sora told herself calmly, "Even if she doesn't want to accept it, she still has to face it. Her family is doing this because they loved their son and because they love her. They need to say good-bye so that they can move on. And she should be there when they do it, so that she can move on too."

"She won't want to."

"She will if you go with her," Sora told herself, "When you care about someone, you help them through the hard things. Even if it means doing something you don't want to do."

"You sound like my mom," the younger Sora commented, making Sora smile nervously, "I guess I do. Go to her, she'll need you."

The younger Sora nodded and went to the little sister, saying something inaudible to her. Sora didn't know what she said, and she couldn't remember what it was either. Even so, the little sister stood up and went with the younger Sora back to find their families. The younger Sora was with the sister every step of the way, all the way up to paying their final respects before her missing friend. There was no body, so in its place was a still photograph of the boy as a child. A photograph of a boy Sora recognized immediately. Biyomon saw the photograph too and said, "Is that who I think it is?"

"It can't be," Sora said as the vision faded away, replaced by Koromon Village. Once again, Etemon came rampaging towards them as digimon around them fled. This time, Sora watched Etemon coming towards them without fear. She took up her digivice and said to her partner, "Biyomon, I'm sorry I hesitated earlier."

"You won't lose me Sora," Biyomon assured her. Sora nodded, "I know! Go get him!"

"Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

Birdramon went out to meet Etemon before he could lay a finger on any of the fleeing digimon, catching him off guard. Birdramon circled overhead a few times before unleashing a wave of her meteor like feathers upon the unsuspecting monkey, "Meteor Wing!"

Etemon avoided the attack narrowly and prepared to counter with his own dark network. Cables emerged from the ground to grab Birdramon. She ducked and weaved through the attacks with minimal effort. Sora thrust her digivice forward and it flashed blinding light at Etemon. He covered his eyes with his hands to shield himself, but lost control over the wires that came crashing down. Birdramon saw her opening and unleashed another flurry of fiery feathers. The monkey finally turned around and fled from the scene, promising revenge. Sora cheered as Birdramon returned to her side as Biyomon, "WAY TO GO BIYOMON!"

"I COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU SORA!" Biyomon yelled back.

The fog around them dissipated, revealing the darkened cave and the entrance just a few feet away. Both Sora and Biyomon marveled at it, unable to believe they'd missed something so close to them after all this time. The two immediately ran outside to find Piximon waiting for them with a smile, "I see you two completed the training. Yup yup! Congratulations! So how was it?"

"It was awful," Biyomon pouted, "We kept seeing the same things over and over again. And no matter what, it always ended the same way! But we were finally able to beat it!"

"Ah! You learned a lesson, didn't you?" Piximon hovered around them excitedly, "I can tell by the looks on your faces. Yup yup! Important lessons indeed!"

Sora nodded and Piximon smiled, "Wonderful! Excellent! You two have passed your test, which means we can move on to the next two! But first, you two must be hungry! Come with me! I have delicious food for you!"

"Awesome! I'm starving!" Biyomon cheered. They followed Piximon back into his home where the other digidestined were busy cleaning the floors. Upon seeing the two return, everyone dropped their cleaning supplies and ran to greet them.

"You're alright!" Mimi exclaimed.

"What took you so long!?" Matt's tone betrayed his concern.

"We were worried!" Gabumon offered for his partner, "You two were gone for a whole day!"

"We're fine," Sora said, "Thanks for worry about us though."

"Forget about that! Where's the food?" Biyomon interrupted, her mouth watering and her stomach growling. Sora was hungry too, but there was one other thing that needed her attention. She looked around them and asked, "Is the Digimon Tamer around?"

"He's out cleaning by the front," Izzy pointed the way. Mimi's eyes lit up, "So, are you finally going to ask him!?"

Sora nodded and walked away from the rest of the group. She found the boy exactly where Izzy said, cleaning the front of the building with Agumon. He looked up when he saw her, and dropped the rag in a bucket. He offered her a proud smile, "Hey! You made it! Not bad, completing Piximon's training in a day."

"Thank you," she replied, stopping just feet away from the Tamer. At this distance, she had a clear look at every detail of the Tamer's face. And there was no mistaking the similarities between his appearance and the photograph from the memory. She began, "Digimon Tamer. I've been meaning to ask this for a while, but I never got a chance until now."

"Okay, fire away Sora," Tamer said, somewhat alarmed but clearly trying to play it off calmly.

"Wait, why'd you get her name right?" Matt protested.

"Because she got my name right," Tamer replied, "Seriously, is nobody paying attention? Now shush, she was going to ask me something important. Go ahead Sora."

Izzy opened his laptop to start writing while Mimi and Palmon listened in carefully, anxious to hear the answer. The others were unaware of Sora's dilemma and had no idea what she was going to ask. They each had their own ideas though, and it left a few of them bright red with embarrassment. Was this a love confession? Something out of a romantic soap opera? The ones who didn't know what she was about to ask were wondering when that would've happened. When would she have fallen for this psychotic child? Was she going to ask for his help? The need to know drove them crazy as they sat there in anticipation.

Sora looked at him one more time, confident that she recognized the Tamer before asking, "Have we met before?"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** BAM! Two cliffhangers in a row. Ain't I a jerk? Is Tamer really Sora's long lost friend? Will Biyomon ever get lunch? Only one way to find out. Come back for my next update on Friday, January 29th. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I usually respond in a day or two, unless you leave a guest review. Then I'll reply in the next update! I also welcome constructive criticism and guesses what will happen next. See you guys next week!


	14. Better Left Forgotten

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hello all you fantastic people! Thanks for all the reviews and for those of you now following Tamer. Another big thanks to Ace Spiritwell for providing cover art for the story. This is my longest chapter yet, unintentionally. If you can believe it, this is the trimmed down version. To be honest, this chapter originally revealed a lot more than I intended so I had to start cutting things down. Anyway, let's start the next chapter. It's what you're all here for. Did any of you even read the A/N? You've already jumped ahead to the story, haven't you? Whatever. Let's roll!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 14: Better Left Forgotten**

"Well duh," the Tamer said, "Of course we have. Remember? We met at the manor when Devimon was rampaging. Agumon and I showed up and saved you guys."

Sora sighed, Mimi smacked herself in the face, Palmon snickered, Biyomon buried her face in her hands, and Izzy stopped typing to stare blankly. Everyone else exchanged confused looks but continued watching with interest. Sora didn't know what answer she was going to get, but she should've known to expect something like that. He'd acted like an idiot from the word go, and there was no reason for him to stop. She tried rewording her question, "I mean, did we know each other before then?"

"I don't think so," Tamer pointing to his head, "When you get as old as I do, you start becoming forgetful. Why? Do you think we know each other?"

"A long time ago, a friend of mine went missing," Sora began, "But when they never found him, they said he was dead. It was years ago, but they never found a body."

Tamer's eyes darted back and forth vacantly. He shrugged and asked, "Where are you going with this?"

"I think they never found a body because they thought it was a kidnapping. But nobody thought that he might have gone to another world. Like we did here in the Digital World. I think he ended up here before us," Sora said, "And I think you're him."

"Does anyone else feel like we're watching one of our parents' television shows?" Matt's question was met with a few silent nods and a slap from Mimi, "Shush! We're getting to the good part."

"What's a television show?" Palmon asked innocently. Mimi shushed her more loudly. Tamer looked over at them, then back to Sora. He examined her for a moment; his gaze turning more serious which completely unnerved her. His eyes softened and he rested both his hands on her shoulders, "Sora. You should know that I have no idea what you're talking about."

Mimi groaned something like 'come on', while he continued, "I'm sure losing your friend was very difficult for you. It probably hurt, and I'm sorry. But I'm not your friend. That friend, I mean. I'm the Digimon Tamer. And your friend…what was their name?"

"Tai Kamiya," Sora said.

"Gesundheit."

"No, it's Tai Kamiya," Sora repeated. He frowned and wagged a finger at her, "You should really cover your nose when you sneeze. It's rude, especially when a person is standing this close to you."

"No, his name was Tai. His family's name was Kamiya. Tai Kamiya," Sora stated more firmly, "I don't know why it took me so long to recognize you. I mean, the hair should've been a dead give away. We were best friends and-"

"Sora," Tamer stopped her mid sentence by pressing a finger to her lips, "I'm not Tai Kamiya. Believe me. I've been alive for a very long time. I think I'd remember ever going by a name that stupid. No offense to your friend."

"You have to remember something. Just try, Tai, please. Like soccer! You remember that right? We used to play it all the time."

"I think I'd remember playing soccer," Tamer shrugged, "I don't. Because I'm not your friend and my name is not Tai."

"So your name is the Digimon Tamer?" Sora asked calmly, hoping she could try to reason with him. This world made very little sense to them, so there was a chance that might have rubbed off on him. If she could make him realize that, maybe he would start to remember. He nodded, "Yeah, that's my name."

"And that makes sense to you?"

"Yup. It's sounds very heroic, right?"

"What kind of hero blows up a house?"

"An effective one!" Tamer grinned manically. Sora rolled her eyes, "Tai, please just listen to me. I can't imagine how hard it must have been to be out here on your own. Especially for that long! I mean, just look at you. You're not the Tai I remember. You're going by 'The Digimon Tamer'. That's not a name! It's ridiculous! Even you have to think there's something wrong with a name like that."

"Sora. I'm sorry about your friend. Really. I'm sorry. I am so sorry for your loss. But I'm not going to take the place of a dead friend," Tamer said.

"Please try to remember Tai! You had a family and friends. You had a life back before all this. Can't you remember any of it?" Sora asked. The Tamer stepped backwards away from her, his cheerful disposition crumbling away. It was only there for a second, but she was close enough to him that she couldn't miss it. His expression shifted to anger but there was a very brief moment where he almost looked heart broken. He just barely managed to say, "I wouldn't forget something like that. I think we're done talking now."

He turned to walk away but Sora went after him, "Tai wait!"

"Shut up Sky," Tamer told her, his angered tone betraying the calm facade he was trying to hold up. Sora stopped in her tracks while Tamer continued walking, down the steps carved into the mountainside and out of sight. Palmon was the first one to break the silence that followed, "Can we talk now, Mimi? I want to know what a television show is."

Mimi was too busy running to Sora's side to answer. She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, "Oh my gosh! Sora, are you okay?"

"I really thought it was him. No, I know it's him," Sora frowned, still looking in the direction that the Tamer had gone, "Should we go after him?"

"No," Agumon said to them, "Normally, I'd say he was sulking but that was different. That was…I don't know what that was. I say you should let him walk it off. If you try talking to him now, he might try to bite your head off."

"Well, he didn't have to be mean about it at the end," Biyomon told the dinosaur. Agumon looked at her, deeply concerned for his partner, "I'd apologize for how he acted, but I really don't know what that was."

"Okay, does anyone want to fill us in on what's going on?" Matt joined the conversation, hoping to clear up any confusion that the rest of them had, "Sora, you know Tamer?"

"I thought I did, now I don't know," she responded with a frown. She needed to be certain, to be one hundred percent correct in her conclusion, "Biyomon, you remember the picture right? The one from the cave. That was him, right?"

"It was, definitely!" her partner agreed. Matt was annoyed at being ignored, "Can someone please explain what's going on?"

"Back in the cave, we saw memories from Sora's past," Biyomon finally told the rest of the group, "One of the things we saw was a funeral, with a picture of one of her friends. They thought he was dead, but the boy in the picture looked an awful lot like a younger version of Tamer."

"I knew he looked familiar! I just never realized why until I saw that memory," Sora added sullenly. Piximon appeared in front of her and smiled, "Cheer up! There's no point in getting depressed over him. Yup yup! Why don't we go get you some food now? You two need to rest after your training. And Joe here needs to get ready for his turn. I think some refreshment would do us all some good! Yup yup!"

"I could do with some lunch," Biyomon said, "Okay! Let's eat!"

The group gathered back into the dining room where Piximon provided them a much more appetizing meal compared to yesterday. Rice, fish, slices of beef, tea, berries, sliced vegetables, miso soup and more appeared with a wave of Piximon's spear. They all settled in to a nice meal while everyone began bombarding Sora with questions about the training. Piximon swiftly put an end to it by saying that their questions would be answered when they undertake the training. What Sora and Biyomon experienced was for them alone, and they would each experience their own training. Since they couldn't get answers about that, they decided to ask Sora about Tamer. Joe was the first to ask, "So you think Tamer is your friend from back then? But you said he was dead."

"They never found a body," Sora corrected, "But that photograph in the cave, it had to be him."

"Well if he is your friend, how wouldn't he remember any of you guys? Couldn't it have been an illusion?" Gomamon asked, "Also, was your friend always as crazy as he is?"

"I also have a few concerns about that memory Sora. Leomon was clear that he traveled with Tamer over a hundred years ago, but none of us here can claim to be that old except for maybe Piximon and Agumon. Is it entirely possible that this is a case of mistaken identity and similar appearances?" Izzy proposed between mouthfuls of food.

"I don't know anymore," Sora stated, pressing her mind to try and remember what she could, "I remember we played soccer a lot. We were best friends before he died. He was also stubborn; he wouldn't back down from any challenge no matter what it was. But he was always brave."

Piximon snorted, sarcastically remarking, "That doesn't sound like him at all."

"Okay Piximon, what do you know?" Mimi asked. Piximon sipped away at some tea, "Lots of things. I've only been alive for a long time."

"Okay, so is Tamer really Sora's friend from our world?" Matt inquired, "And if so, how has he survived for so long?"

"I doubt it," Piximon said plainly, finishing his tea, "He's almost as old as I am, but I don't know anything about him before the war."

"War? You mean that thing with Etemon?" Gabumon asked curiously, "Andromon said that they were taking innocent digimon."

Izzy opened his laptop and started typing away furiously again, "If you wouldn't mind, please tell us about it. We'd like some straight answers for once."

Piximon took his time pouring more tea for himself. He took a big drink and began talking, "It was a very long time ago. Most of the digimon alive now don't even know it happened because it was before them. The ones who lived long enough to survive it don't like to talk about it, although most of them disappeared – leaving this world or going into a deep sleep. You've fought with Etemon and seen his strength first hand. But he is a pawn, a soldier to a much greater cause that threatens the peace of the Digital World. And there were many who tried to stop them. One group was made of the oldest beings in the Digital World. Like digimon, they were made of pure data but they were not digimon nor could they digivolve. Where as digimon relied on physical strength, they relied on their knowledge and mastery over this world. They went by a lot of names: the Digital Ancients, the Cyber Forebears, the Creators of Information, the Sages of Data, the Guardians of Destiny, the Sentinels of History. Today, they sometimes get called the first Digidestined. Their name's not important. What's important is that they fought to protect the Digital World. It started out like a battle between good and evil. But it escalated to a fight for survival. Both sides went further and took more dangerous means to try and destroy the other. One of the things they did was make the digivices you use to digivolve your partners."

They uncomfortably examined the digivices in their hands. They weren't nearly as old or as battered as the Tamer's were. It seemed like his was that way because it was old, not because it had been used in a war. Worse yet was the idea that their digivices were weapons. Centarumon and Leomon called them preservers of light, but it never occurred to them that the digivices were meant to be like that. Piximon continued telling his story, "Many digimon see your digivices and think of you as saviors. But I've lived long enough to know those are not the tools of saviors. They're the weapons of soldiers and the digimon who fought along side them. The things they did, atrocities they committed, the lives they ended. Tell me, do you think of your digimon partners as your friends or are they your soldiers for battle?"

"Of course they're our friends! Why wouldn't they be?" Mimi argued. Piximon continued drinking his tea silently, completely ignoring Mimi's protests. Agumon shifted uncomfortably but did nothing. Piximon poured himself another cup and continued, "If you say so. Let me ask you this, though. How many times have you actually fought beside your partners instead of sitting back and watching?"

The question left its mark and they stopped eating. Thinking about it made their stomach's turn uncomfortably. Tamer and Agumon fought side by side, but Gomamon especially called them out for killing other digimon. Meanwhile, the rest of them sat back and let their digimon do the fighting. Piximon sighed, "In the end, all anyone wanted was for the fighting to stop. And one day, it did. All wars end, either because both sides agree to peace or one side is completely destroyed. And that was how that war ended. The oldest and wisest beings to have ever lived in the Digital World were gone in an instant. Except for the Digimon Tamer."

"Wait, how did the war end?" Joe interrupted, "I thought digimon reformatted back in Primary Village when they died life. If that's true wouldn't both sides just keep coming back to fight?"

"I said that both sides escalated by going further to destroy each other. This included finding ways to kill each other permanently. Yes, both sides just reformatted and came back to fight at first. But as it dragged on, they discovered ways to kill each other permanently. And worse. It spread like fire across our world," Piximon stopped to sip more tea before continuing, "I was there too, but I never got fully involved. If innocent digimon got caught in the fighting, I'd go rescue them. It wasn't my war, it just happened around me. But they were there - right on the battlefield. You may have noticed some digimon treat them like heroes, but others treat them like monsters."

Agumon finally broke his silence and brought his clawed hand down on the table with a slam, "Going as far as we did does not make us monsters!"

"So you claim. Though, if I'm being honest, I think he went further than you ever did," Piximon said, "Nothing that came of it made it right. Personally, I think it's good that he always goes off to be alone when he's angry. It means he knows what he can do and that he's afraid to do it again. Although whether that's good or bad is up to you."

"What did he do?" Izzy asked curiously, "To make you talk about him like that?"

Piximon remained silent and continued drinking his tea. Seeing that he wouldn't answer the question, Sora asked a different one, "So what was he like in this war?"

"If you still think he's your friend, it might be best to put that idea to rest," Piximon said, "It's a memory better left forgotten, if only so that you can remember your friend for who he was. He may have been that person at some point, but he isn't that person anymore. And you may not like what you learn about this new person. The Digimon Tamer is a murderer, plain and simple."

Gomamon nodded his agreement but Agumon snapped, "That murderer is the only reason you and the rest of the Digital World are still standing!"

A tense silence followed as both Piximon and Agumon glared at each other angrily. The silence was broken when Piximon waved his spear to make the food disappear, to everyone's disappointment. They groaned about having their meal end so quickly, but this didn't stop Piximon from issuing more commands, "Sora and Biyomon! You may go to bed early to rest. Joe and Gomamon, it's your turn to go train. The rest of you will meditate here."

Agumon stormed out of the room while the others continued to bemoan the end of their meal. Joe and Gomamon picked themselves up and followed Piximon while the others resigned themselves to the 'meditation' room. This time, they would have something to meditate on. The children and their digimon looked to each other. Were they soldiers in a war? No, they were kids on an adventure. At least, that's what they'd like to believe.

* * *

Joe and Gomamon followed Piximon out into his backyard where they found a cave. Joe pointed at it sullenly, "Is that where we're going to train?"

"Of course! You're training is to find your way out," Piximon said, "Good luck."

Gomamon looked inside of the cave and remarked on its size, "It's not that big. How did it take Sora and Biyomon a day?"

"You'll see. In you go!" Piximon waved his spear and two found themselves pushed inside by an invisible force. As they screamed, Piximon told them, "Remember! Your training is to find your way back out!"

They hit the ground with thud and groaned. From within, Gomamon snarled, "What was that for!? Seriously, what kind of training is this? The exit's right there!"

"What?" Piximon paused, surprised by the unexpected turn of events. Joe and Gomamon walked back out of the cave, dusting themselves off. Gomamon in particular was cross, "Some training. We got kicked in a cave for no reason."

"Piximon, could you at least throw us in more gently next time?" Joe asked sheepishly, "It's a miracle my glasses didn't break from the fall."

Piximon stared at them quizzically, dumbfounded that they'd simply walked out, "You two…didn't see anything?"

"I saw you throw us into the cave with your magic," Gomamon grumbled, massaging his back, "I think I landed on a rock or something. So is there something else to this training or is that it?"

"But…that's supposed to be a test of your character!" Piximon began, "You relive moments from the past and see the future that could be! You're supposed to see moments that helped define who you are or things to remind you of what's most important. You should have been trapped by the cave's illusions until you gained the resolve to overcome them!"

"What are you talking about?" Joe asked, "Also do you have any spare bandages and ointment? I ran out a while ago and I think I scratched my arm when you threw us in."

"You two really didn't see anything?" Piximon asked again, still wrestling with the possibility that these two could possibly be unaffected.

"You keep asking that and we keep saying no," Joe said, increasingly frustrated. Piximon stared at them blankly, only managing to say, "Huh."

"Don't 'huh' us," Gomamon frowned. Piximon snapped out of his stupor but was still obviously shaken when he spoke, "I've never seen that before. I guess your training's done. Yup yup. Okay, come with me. You can go back and rest while I take the next two for training. I can also get you some bandages from the supply closet."

"Some training, all we got was thrown at a wall," Gomamon complained, waddling behind the pixie digimon. Joe followed suit, keeping a hand over part of his arm to cover the scratch. He led them back into the meditation room and departed to fetch the bandages. Their return was greeted with as much surprise as would've been expected. Sora and Biyomon especially appeared awestruck to see them back so quickly, "You two finished your training already?"

"What training? He kicked us into a cave and told us to find our way out," Gomamon answered, "And we did. We just walked back out."

"Wait, seriously?" Biyomon gasped.

"Why is that the response we keep getting?" Joe's face was dressed in disbelief, offended by the idea that the others didn't believe it. Did they really think he couldn't handle Piximon's training? Then again, he probably wasn't leaving anything resembling a good impression on them. He resigned himself to that fact and continued, "Whatever, I hope he comes back soon with those bandages."

"So he kicks you in a cave and tells you to find your way back out. That's some training," Matt said more than asked. He turned to Sora and Biyomon, "How come it took you two so long to get out?"

"Hey! We actually saw stuff in the cave!" Sora countered. Gomamon snorted, "Maybe I was wrong about Tamer. You guys are the crazy ones."

"Stop talking about the training," Piximon said upon his return. He threw a roll of bandages at Joe, who quickly started wrapping them around his arm. Piximon then pointed his spear at Matt and Gabumon, "You two! It's your turn to train!"

Gabumon and Matt swapped glances then looked to Piximon, "Are you going to kick us in a cave too?"

"You two will experience what ever you experience," Piximon said, "What happened to Joe and Gomamon was…unprecedented."

"What?"

"He means it's never happened before and he has no idea what to do," Izzy's explained it to them, "Which is surprising since he usually seems to be in control of the situation."

"If you're done wasting time, we're going to begin your training. The rest of you continue your meditation!" Piximon instructed. Matt and Gabumon filed out to follow them. When the door slid shut, the remaining three pairs looked at each other expectantly. They each wondered what they'd experience when it came time for them to train. Joe and Gomamon were only gone for ten minutes, but Sora and Biyomon were gone for a day. Would they be gone just as long? Or would they be gone for a few minutes like Joe and Gomamon?

* * *

Matt awoke in a dense shadowy fog along side Gabumon who lay unconscious on the ground. Matt racked his brain to remember how he got there, then recalled Piximon pushing them inside while saying that it was up to them to find their way out. He rolled off his back and nudged at his partner, "Hey! Gabumon! Wake up!"

Gabumon yawned and his eyes cracked open, "What happened? I was having a good dream."

"We need to get out of this cave," Matt reminded him, making Gabumon jolt up. The two picked themselves up and examined the dense fog around them. How did Joe and Gomamon just walk out of this? Everything looked the same no matter which direction they looked. Matt looked upwards in search of the sun or some other source of light they could use to guide them out, but saw only thick white fog. Matt sighed, "We'd better start walking."

"Which way?" Gabumon asked.

"Does it matter?" Matt answered, "We're bound to find an exit somewhere eventually."

They wandered through the thick fog for hours in search of the way out. The more time they spent wandering, the more apparent it became that they were lost. After what felt like an eternity of walking, Matt asked, "How did Joe and Gomamon just walk out? I can't see an entrance or light or anything."

"Well it took Sora and Biyomon a day, so that's something," Gabumon reminded Matt, "So there's nothing wrong with us having a little trouble."

"It's just annoying," Matt grumbled, kicking the dirt beneath them, "Sora said she saw memories. When are we supposed to see things?"

"What do you think we'll see?" Gabumon pressed his partner excitedly, "You don't think we'll have to fight Devimon again, do you?"

A shadow descended upon them from behind, darkening the landscape around them as the ground shook. Matt and Gabumon turned around to see everyone standing there - Sora, Biyomon, Joe, Gomamon, Mimi, Palmon, Izzy, Tentomon, TK, and Patamon. They were facing the mountainous Devimon again, shooting death glares at them, "I WILL NOT DIE!"

Their digimon partners digivolved to the champion level and charged forward. Only Patamon stayed a rookie because TK refused to let him fight. Even so, Birdramon, Kabuterimon, Ikakumon, and Togemon threw themselves at Devimon - only to be swatted away with a wave of his hand. The other digidestined then waved their digivices at Devimon, flashing bright lights that temporarily blinded the demon digimon. As the events played out before them, Matt sighed, "Okay, so is this what we're supposed to see? It's obvious this isn't happening. Because Devimon's dead."

"I don't think that's the point Matt," Gabumon commented. Devimon continued towards the digidestined despite being blinded by the light. He brushed his arm along the ground and pushed the digidestined away. He raised his fist and split the ground when he slammed it. The chasms that formed separated TK and Patamon from the others, trapping them with Matt and Gabumon. TK backed away fearfully from Devimon, but Patamon went out to stop him, "Boom Bubble!"

The bubble bounced off Devimon. The demon loomed over the two, grabbing both of them in his hands and squeezing them. Watching the scene play out unnerved Matt, but he reminded himself that none of this was real. It wasn't real. It was just a trick. Joe didn't see anything, and Sora only saw memories from her past. If this was a memory, then Patamon would digivolve to Angemon and defeat Devimon. Any moment now, he would. It was just a matter of time. Devimon squeezed tighter and TK squeaked out in agony. Devimon cackled in joy, while Patamon shouted, "TK! I'll help you! I'll-"

There was a loud snap and Patamon fell silent. There was a burst of data from Devimon's hand and Matt realized the little rookie was gone. He reminded himself that none of this was real. This was not how it happened. But he couldn't ignore TK's whimpering as Devimon squeezed him even tighter, "Patamon! No! Come…back! Please! Don't…go! Help! Please! Some…one…please…any…one…please!"

None of this was real. Matt told himself this again and again, but his brother was in danger. He had to help him. Save him. But this wasn't real. This wasn't his brother. TK was back in Piximon's training ground with Tokomon. Gabumon could sense how uncomfortable his partner was and reminded him, "It's not real Matt."

"MATT! HELP! ME!" TK shrieked.

"TK!" Matt shouted, forgetting everything about the illusion and running out to his little brother. It was too late. There was another loud crack and TK's cries died away. Matt paused, watching TK go limp in Devimon's hands. Devimon dropped the little boy and he fell to the ground with a thump. Matt froze in terror at his little brother's lifeless form in front of him. His little brother's wide-open eyes staring blankly at the sky. His heart raced. His hands shook. The world around him stopped. All he could see was his little brother lying there, unmoving. No words, no breaths, nothing. Only his still, motionless body.

"Matt! Matt! Snap out of it! This is not real!" Gabumon shook him. Matt blinked and his brother's body vanished. He glanced around at the fog and saw nothing, no Devimon, no digidestined or digimon. Just himself and Gabumon looking up worriedly, "Matt! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Matt managed, shaking anxiously. Gabumon was right, none of that was real. But it felt so he real. The fear and grief he felt watching helpless TK was real. He couldn't forget the lifeless stare of TK, and he didn't think he ever would. He looked down at his own hands and saw them shaking. His brother had died in front of him and he was unable to help him - because he refused to help him. He tried assuring himself that it wasn't real, but the assurance was hollow.

"You don't look it."

"I'm fine," Matt said again, "Let's…let's just go."

* * *

Piximon left the digidestined and their partners to continue their meditation until their turn came. He doubted they actually would though. They were kids and didn't have the attention span for it. Still, he hoped they would at least take the time to reflect on everything they'd experienced since coming to this world. Their coming was foretold by prophecy and much of that prophecy had been lost to time. However, he knew it was his role in that prophecy to help guide them to become what they needed to be. And that he would perish when they no longer needed his guidance. But there was one among them who was cause for concern - the Digimon Tamer and Agumon, whose experiences had a lasting effect on both their psyches. War had that effect. It was one thing to lose a loved one, but another to lose everything.

Piximon still recalled the day the pair went into the cave. They were inside for days and would have been lost to it if Piximon hadn't gone inside to rescue them. The state they were in when he found them and the visions they'd seen. The moment Piximon put hands on them, he was pulled into their illusions. Seeing what they saw and knowing what they were forced to relive was as traumatic for Piximon as it was for them. He was only able to overcome it because he didn't have the same animosity towards it as the pair did. Even now, he could still remember their reactions when they came out of the cave. The fear, the hate, the sadness. It was one of two times Piximon was unsure of the cave's purpose. The other time was with Joe and Gomamon just moments before.

He'd been searching the mountainside for the pair. He thought it would be a good idea to check in on them, especially the more damaged of the two. He found them at the edge of the barrier that hid his oasis in the desert. Agumon was using his claws to tear at trees angrily, expressing his frustration with each strike while the Tamer sat under a tree, bemusedly watching, "You don't get mad often."

"He called you a murderer!" Agumon snapped, "Why are you so calm about it?"

He didn't answer, staring at Agumon silently while he continued to lay into the trees around them, chipping away at the bark and wood until the trunks were so bare that trees collapsed under their own weight. As they fell, a banana dropped from one of the branches and landed in the Tamer's hands. He peeled back the skin and ate, "Delicious. Bananas are good."

Agumon breathed heavy after one more strike on the tree and gasped for breath, "So I have to ask. Sora thinks she knows you. She called you her friend. Are you?"

"Of course not," Tamer answered between mouthfuls of banana, "Never met her until the manor."

"She seemed convinced you were."

"Well, I'm not," Tamer said more sternly, "I think she's sad because her friend died and she never really got over it. I'm sorry for her, but I'm not going to take the place of a friend who died just to make her feel better. She needs to accept the fact that her friend is gone."

"As long as you've been alive, is it entirely possible that you just forgot?" Agumon asked, "Where are you at now? About ninety-thousand, right?"

"One-hundred-five-thousand one-hundred and twenty-eight years," The Tamer replied, "I might have skipped a few years but that sounds about right. And no, I didn't forget. It's hard to forget. No matter how badly I want to."

"You still think about it, don't you?"

"I try not to think about it. Let's just focus on the now. They need to hurry their training so that they can fight Etemon," Tamer jumped up, "You were right, they're not as experienced as us. But with Piximon's training, they should be mentally prepared to do what's necessary."

"You mean the training you never completed?" Piximon said finally revealing himself to them. Neither Tamer nor Agumon greeted Piximon, although Agumon did scowl. Tamer continued munching his banana and asked, "Shouldn't you be training the others?"

"They're meditating," Piximon said dismissively, "You've come a long way since you first failed the training centuries ago. You've done quite a lot, helped a lot of digimon, saved plenty of lives, even convinced a few of your enemies to come to your side. Yup yup."

"What happened to being a murderer?" Agumon accused Piximon. He hadn't forgotten how cold Piximon had been at lunch. Piximon buzzed around Agumon while answering, "Nothing can undo what was done. Yup yup. What matters is that you're doing something about it. It's almost depressing to think that you've never finished your training. It makes the training seem pointless."

"Well you never let us go back in," the Tamer said pointedly, finishing his banana and tossing the peel into some nearby bushes. Piximon understood what the Tamer was implying, but could never forget how the cave affected Tamer and Agumon. Until he knew they were ready to go back in, he would not let them. He _could_ not let them. If they did, they may come out worse than last time.

"I'll let you in when you prove to me that going back in won't break you," Piximon reminded them, "You've forgotten what happened last time haven't you? Because I haven't and that's why you're not going back in."

The Digimon Tamer and Agumon stared at Piximon silently, a long steady uncomfortable silence. It was broken by beeping from Tamer's digivice, a beeping that had all three of them looking at it in surprise. Piximon and Agumon huddled around the Tamer as he retrieved it from his pocket, "I don't believe it."

"A distress signal…from an unused communication channel," Piximon observed, worry drawing on his eyes, "But they've been inactive after all this time. You don't think-"

"It can't be," Agumon refuted the possibility, "It's a trick."

"Well there's a location," the Tamer stated excitedly, a tiniest hint of hope in his voice, "That's something. It wouldn't hurt to have a look."

"Tamer, I know what you're thinking," Agumon said, "But it's not possible. After all this time and all the stories, do you honestly think anyone can be that quiet for that long?"

"I need this Agumon. Just let me have this, even for a moment," Tamer said wishfully, staring at his digivice's screen with a smile. It was a genuine, soft smile. The kind that belonged on the face of a child and, for a moment, Tamer actually did seem like one. The hopeful smile turned to doubt when he saw something else on the screen, "There are three dots coming towards us."

"Three?" Piximon asked.

"From that direction," the Tamer pointed past the barrier. In the distance, they could make out three Tyrannomon walking towards the barrier, oblivious to its presence. Piximon flew towards the barrier and frowned, "This is bad. They're going to walk right through the barrier."

"Actually, considering the size of the desert and how much time has passed, it's a miracle more digimon don't just accidentally walk into it," the Tamer commented jokingly. Piximon didn't appreciate his humor glared at him. Tamer quickly added, "You're right though. If they discover this place, Etemon's digimon will come crawling. We should go now."

"You won't fight?" Agumon asked.

"Oh, I didn't say that," the Tamer said, "Three on two? I like those odds."

"You make it seem like I won't be fighting with you," Piximon frowned, hovering between Tamer and Agumon. Tamer looked at the little pink ball, "Are you sure you want to put yourself on Etemon's radar?"

"Eh, what's the worse he can do?" Piximon smiled confidently, "I'd like to see him try and attack my home."

The three walked out of the barrier to face the oncoming Tyrannomon.

* * *

Matt and Gabumon continued wandering through the fog, lost in the constantly repeating vision of TK and Patamon getting killed by Devimon. The harder Matt tried to remind himself that it wasn't real, the harder it became to not act. So when the vision started again, Matt didn't hesitate to aim his digivice at Gabumon, "Gabumon! Help them!"

"Matt! It's not real!" Gabumon urged him, "None of this-"

"I don't care! I don't want to watch TK die again!" Matt snapped, "Help them! Please!"

Gabumon nodded hesitantly and digivolved to Garurumon. In his larger champion form, he ran out to fight Devimon along side the others. It didn't take Devimon long to swat him aside like he swatted the other champion digimon. Then the digidestined used the light of their digivices to try and stop him, but Devimon pushed through and split the ground. Trapping TK, Matt, and Patamon on one side of the chasm while everyone else was trapped on the other. Like every vision before, Devimon pressed on TK and Patamon. Matt had seen this hundreds of times before and he knew what would happen next. He had to stop it. He couldn't watch his brother die again. Not the way he'd seen him die so many times before.

Matt rushed out between Devimon and his brother, throwing out his digivice as it shined light on the shadowy demon. Devimon was unaffected, but the light grew brighter and Devimon began backing away, "No!"

Matt quickly realized that there were two lights, and the stronger one wasn't coming from his digivice. He turned to see Angemon behind him, his hand glowing with a bright flame. He thrust his fist forward and cried, "Hand of Fate!"

The fire burst from his hands into a bright light that turned Devimon to dust as he howled and cursed. The light blinded Matt at first, but it eventually faded away to reveal his little brother TK and his partner Patamon standing before him. Relief came over him and he ran to his little brother, "TK! I'm so glad you're alright!"

"Stop it," TK said with an annoyed voice. Matt slid to a halt in front of his little brother, "TK?"

"Stop treating me like a little kid Matt!" TK raised his voice more seriously, taking a tone with him he never had before, "I can take care of myself so stop trying to baby me!"

"I wasn't trying to baby you TK, I was trying to help you!" Matt explained to his little brother, only to be met with a cold glare, "I don't need your help Matt! I can do fine on my own!"

"TK, what's going on with you?" Matt asked, as his little brother stepped towards him. With each step, he saw his brother grow taller, thinner, and older. It continued until they were roughly the same height and age, TK's clothes changed to reflect his aged appearance - a white cap, yellow sweater, with green shorts and shoes. Even his voice changed to match his age, "Matt, I get it. You're worried, but I don't need you to fight my battles for me. So please, stop trying to act like the hero!"

"I wasn't trying to act like anything TK! I'm your brother! I just wanted you to be safe!"

"So you don't think I can be safe on my own?" TK asked his expression growing more agitated, "I knew it! You still don't think I can handle myself! What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you! I was just trying to take care of you."

"I don't need your help to take care of myself Matt! Why can't you see that I'm not a little kid anymore! After everything we've done, everything we've been through, do you still not trust me to be okay on my own!?"

Matt was taken aback by the look of pure frustration and stepped away from his younger brother – the brother that was roughly his height and age. He only wanted to help. Why couldn't TK understand that? Was he wrong to even think that his brother couldn't take care of himself? He was roughly the same age as Matt when they first came to the Digital World, so this shouldn't have been a problem for him. It occurred to Matt that nothing about this was making any sense. Then he felt a tug at his hand and looked down to see Gabumon, "Matt! You're spacing out! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Matt shook his head. He looked around and saw nothing but blank empty space surrounded by fog, "How much of that was real?"

"How much of what?" Gabumon asked.

"Devimon, you digivolving, me trying to save TK, Angemon, TK yelling at me," Matt listed off the events he could remember. Gabumon shook his head, "I didn't see anything. You just started spacing out. Did you see the vision again?"

"Yeah," Matt nodded, "But…I think that one was different. I'm okay though, really."

"Good, because Joe's here," Gabumon pointed to Joe standing beside them with his hands in his pockets, trying his hardest to not look like he was judging them, "Are you two okay?"

"Wait, are you real?" Matt asked, poking the older boy in the chest. He seemed real enough, especially when Joe pulled away, "Last time I checked. Piximon sent me back in here to get you guys and lead you back out."

"What? But we're not even done! Besides, how are we supposed to know any of this is real?" Matt questioned seriously. Was this another trick? Another illusion? There was no way for either of them to tell in this crazy place. He forgot all about those worries when Joe flicked his forehead with his finger, "I swear, I don't know why I'm bothering. Come on!"

Joe grabbed Matt's wrist and Gabumon's claw, then started pulling them along. The fog thinned and they eventually found themselves standing at the cave entrance. Outside, they could see Piximon, Gomamon, TK, Patamon, Sora, Biyomon, Mimi, Palmon, Izzy, Tentomon, Agumon, and the Tamer. Joe continued pulling them once they were out of the cave and commented, "That cave was a lot bigger than I remember."

"Yeah, it does that," Piximon nodded, "How are you feeling Matt? Gabumon?"

"I'm fine, but Matt was spacing out a lot in there," Gabumon pointed to his partner worriedly, "Is that normal?"

Tamer approached Matt and put a hand to his forehead like he was checking for a fever. Matt knocked his hand away and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Checking your head," the Tamer replied, replacing his hand on Matt's head. On contact, Matt felt his mind flood with all of the thoughts and memories from his experiences in the cave. The sheer weight of remembering it all at once gave him a headache and he slapped the Tamer's hand away again, "Knock it off!"

"I think he's okay," the Tamer said, "A little shaken, but no worse for wear than when he went in."

"All the same, keep an eye on him. I don't want another one running around," Piximon instructed to the Tamer with a nod. He then faced Matt and explained, "Sorry for pulling you out before completing your training. I hate to say this but you'll have to leave much sooner than expected."

"But why are we leaving? And why did I have to go in there?" Joe asked, "Couldn't anyone else have gone?"

"In no particular order: Because you're somehow not affected by the cave, Etemon has discovered that we're here, and not without getting lost in the illusions of the cave," the Tamer answered.

"Wait, how did Etemon find us?" Sora demanded.

"Three Tyrannomon were about to walk into the barrier so we took care of them," Agumon explained, "But since they're part of Etemon's crew, he'll be on his way here soon to find out what happened to them. And he'll come with larger numbers. We don't want to be here when that happens."

"So we're abandoning Piximon?" Biyomon asked apprehensively. They all shared her concerns and didn't want to abandon another digimon to their fate. She added snidely, "There sure is a lot of running away with you guys."

The Tamer and Agumon looked at Piximon, then burst into fits of laughter. Piximon himself joined in, bouncing along the air with each laugh. As he calmed down, he floated above the kids and waved his spear. There was a loud bang and the earth shook, followed by another loud bang as Piximon's giant statue of himself landed beside them. Piximon twirled his spear proudly while boasting, "There are few who can best my magic. Yup yup! I will be fine on my own."

"Then why are we running away?" Izzy asked.

"Because with Piximon, guys like us will probably just get in his way," Tamer offered as an explanation, while pointing to the statue, "Besides, does he look like he needs our help?"

Piximon fluttered around his statue, dusting it off and striking a pose similar to the one permanently encapsulated in stone. The display was so bafflingly immature that they couldn't possibly believe he'd be okay on his own. Of course, only Izzy was brave enough to voice that doubt, "Are you serious?"

Piximon answered by waving his spear again, creating another unseen force that pulled the computer whiz high into the air. He yelped as he hovered there upside by the ankle, "Ah! Let me down!"

"Izzy! What are you doing that for you meanie!" TK shouted at Piximon.

"Yeah! Leave him alone!" Tokomon added. Piximon waved his spear again and Izzy came crashing to the ground with a loud scream. Sora, Mimi, Matt and Joe moved along the ground to catch him. As he was about to crash into ground, he came to a sudden halt in the air then was gently returned upright to the ground. Piximon laughed at them, "I don't need your help to protect my home. Yup yup. Besides, there are others out there who need your help."

The Tamer pulled out his beeping digivice and silenced it. He showed them the map on its screen and explained, "I got a distress signal a little while ago. Since we can't stay here, we might as well go give a hand to whoever's calling for help! Does that sound like a plan to you guys?"

"Do we have a choice?" Sora asked, "If we do, I think it might make more sense to stay and finish the training. If Piximon is able to protect this place on his own, then we shouldn't have to worry."

"Nope nope! You are needed elsewhere! So, no excuses!" Piximon said, "Off you go!"

He waved his spear and produced several bags of food and water, "Here are some supplies for your journey!"

"Well, we are supposed to be heroes," Palmon stated sheepishly, "We wouldn't really be if we didn't help someone out when they were calling for it."

"And so far, the score is one win and one loss," the Tamer added, reminding them of Koromon Village's destruction, "So how about making it two wins and one loss?"

"It would be nice if we could managed to save someone for once," Joe crossed his arms, "So where are we going?"

"West," the Tamer answered, pointing out to the horizon.

"That's south," Agumon frowned, prompting the Tamer to turn on his heel to correct himself. Biyomon sighed, "Right then, let's go help this digimon in need!"

They gathered the bags and said their goodbyes to Piximon before departing through the barrier. They were dejected, feeling more like they were being dragged to do something instead of doing it because they wanted to. Matt occasionally shot a glance at his little brother walking alongside Tokomon playfully. He tried to stay calm, but he kept remembering what the TK in the cave had told him. The words echoed in his mind, and he wondered if he'd been treating his little brother unfairly. He was a chosen child, right? A digidestined. So did he really need Matt protecting him?

* * *

In another part of the Digital World, Etemon gazed into the monitors of his trailer as it moved through the desert. Before him was a map of the entire continent of Server, and some of the surrounding area. His dark network had spread through the entire Digital World, and he had spies everywhere. So how did the digidestined, the Digimon Tamer, and their digimon just disappear? Worse yet, how did three Tyrannomon just vanish off the radar? There was no call for help. No distress signal. They were just gone! How?

He called every available digimon and diverted them to the last known coordinates of the three missing Tyrannomon to investigate. Either they were dead or being lazy. In either case, he was going to destroy something when he got there. This entire hunt was in the way of his music career. He had songs to write, concerts to perform, autographs to sign, and fans to serve. He wasn't going to stop because of some kids. His thought processes were interrupted by one of the Gazimon holding a cordless phone, "Your awesome rock star-ness. There's a call for you."

"Oh? Hand it over," Etemon snatched the phone and held it to his ear, "Hello?"

Etemon listened to the voice on the other side, growing frustrated with it and answered, "If you think you can do it better, then please! DO IT! Uh huh! I want to go back to writing my songs!"

The other end of the line questioned his ability to do the job and he protested, "I don't need any help from nobody to do this! You see? But if you want to hand this off to someone else, be my guest! I've got better things to do! Uh huh!"

The voice on the other end berated him, something he wouldn't take, "Now you listen here! I don't want to do this and I don't have to do this! Uh huh! You keep talking about fate and destiny but-"

He was stopped by a sudden red dot that appeared on the monitors, along with the erratic beeping noise it made. It took him a second to register it because of the nature of the signal, but recognized the channel immediately. It was a distress signal, from one of the Ancients' secure lines. But there were no ancients, except for the Digimon Tamer. And he wouldn't be so stupid to broadcast his location. But he would be stupid enough to go investigate. And Etemon recognized the location of the signal the moment he laid eyes on it. And he couldn't let them get free. He slapped his Gazimon over the back of the head, "Change destination. We're going there!"

"Master Etemon?" Gazimon asked. Etemon was ignoring him now and went back to the phone, "I'm going to have to call you back. An old friend is asking for help."

He hung up and continued eyeing the dot on the map. He never expected his old friend to figure out how to put out a distress signal. But he knew they wouldn't live to regret it. Sparing them the first time was a mercy and a mistake. One he wouldn't make twice.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Well, that's all for now. I'll be taking a brief two-week break to do some editing and writing. I've written these chapters out in advance and need some time to review them to make sure they're up to good quality. Come back for my next update in two weeks on Friday, February 12th. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I usually respond in a day or two, unless you leave a guest review. Then I'll reply in the next update! I also welcome constructive criticism and guesses what will happen next. See you guys in two weeks for Chapter 15, Prisoner of the Pyramid.


	15. The Prisoner of the Pyramid

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** And we're back. Thanks to everyone who left a review and to all the people who followed/favorite the story. Once again, a major thank you to Ace Spiritwell for producing the cover art for The Tamer, go check out their fanfiction and deviantart accounts. Anyway, let's get the ball rolling!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 15: The Prisoner of the Pyramid**

They travelled for days through unbelievably hot desert and impossibly frigid nights, following the Tamer's direction. Sora kept an eye on him the entire time, still certain that this was her friend from long ago. But she hadn't forgotten his reaction, so she didn't bring up the matter again. This didn't stop either Izzy or Mimi from trying to fish for information for her.

"Where did you and Agumon learn to fight the way you did? Back at Koromon Village, you two looked like you'd done all of this before," Izzy asked.

"When you've been around as long as we have, you just pick this stuff up," the Tamer answered, "When you get your butt handed to you enough times, you learn how to hand others their butts right back."

"Well, where did you get your clothes?" Mimi asked, "I'd say you need a new wardrobe but I don't think we've seen anything like clothing stores in the Digital World. Did you make them yourself, because that would explain the poor fashion sense."

"What these? I've had these forever," the Tamer said, "They're the only clothes I have."

"You have others, you just don't wear them," Agumon commented, earning him a snide grimace from the Tamer.

"Wait, really? That's disgusting!" Mimi slowed her pace to put distance between herself and the Tamer. The Tamer glanced back at her, "Said the girl who's been wearing the same dress for how many days?"

"That's different, we don't have any other clothing. Everything got left back in our world," Izzy protested. Tentomon flew up beside them and remarked, "I never understood why you humans don't just go au natural! Like us digimon."

"Speak for yourself," Gabumon adjusted his coat of fur, "Some of us have a sense of decency."

"Yeah, that's why you're not wearing any pants," Agumon laughed. Gabumon moved his hands to cover the lower half of his body, and the others quietly snickered. Gabumon retorted, "At least I wear something!"

"Now that I think about it, if you haven't changed your clothes, do you at least bath?" Izzy asked, starting to trail behind the Tamer so that he was walking along side Mimi. The Tamer stopped in his tracks and turned to face them, "There's nothing but desert for miles. Where am I going to get enough water to take a bath?"

"You had plenty back at File Island, when we were surrounded by ocean. Are you saying it didn't occur to you to take a bath then?" Izzy concluded. The Tamer continued staring at them blankly, unnerving the two of them until Agumon added, "It's because he doesn't like baths."

"Agumon!" Tamer scowled as the others started laughing. TK ran right up to him and patted him, "Don't feel bad! I hate baths too!"

"I'm being comforted by a seven year old. Something has gone horribly wrong with my life," the Tamer groaned. He started walking again while asking, "Can we change the subject?"

"Sure, how did you guys get from File Island to the continent of Server so fast?" Joe's question was something they'd all been wondering. Tamer met his gaze with amused interest, "That's probably the best question I've been asked since I met you guys. To answer, we swam!"

"All the way across the ocean? I don't think so," Joe folded his arms skeptically, "That took us five days riding inside of Whamon. I counted. It was the worst five days in the Digital World. So how did you get across the ocean so quick?"

"I created a hole in time and space, then walked through it with Agumon," the Tamer answered flatly, his tone more serious. Biyomon cocked her head to the side skeptically, "Are we just supposed to believe that?"

"If you want to, but there's no rule saying you have to," Agumon answered the question for him.

"So are you telling the truth? You can really make portals?" TK's curiosity was innocent enough.

"Of course!"

"Okay, do it now," Joe demanded, sure that they were making it up and trying to goad them into admitting it. Agumon wagged a finger at them, "Tsk, tsk. That's not it works. He can't just do it anytime."

"Then when can he do it?" Tentomon asked.

"Only when I want to," the Tamer shot them a goofy smile, which made them collectively sigh, "And right now, I think stretching our legs would make a nice change."

"You're making fun of us, aren't you?" Joe half complained, half accused. The two of them went back and forth loudly. Matt ignored their antics and eyed his little brother anxiously. It had been days, but he couldn't forget the events that transpired in the cave. The exchange he'd had with his little brother, the contempt held by TK's doppelgänger. What bugged Matt was how much of it struck a chord with him. He just wanted to protect his little brother, but had he been underestimating TK's ability to protect himself?

"Hey! What's that?" TK pointed ahead to a large rock face at the foot of a mountain. Before them was a large stone entrance leading into a tunnel veiled in darkness. Izzy excitedly ran inside, "It looks like another one of those temples! Like the one back on File Island!"

"What's he talking about?" Biyomon looked to Mimi and Tentomon. As Tentomon brought them up to speed on their experiences with Centarumon in the temple, Tamer and Agumon casually strolled inside to find Izzy sitting on the floor with his laptop out. He examined the glyphs carefully in the hopes of deciphering their meaning and proclaimed, "Prodigious! These hieroglyphs repeat themselves in the exact same pattern as the one back on File Island. Wait a second. This one is different. It's half drawn compared to the one on my laptop. I wonder why that is though? Perhaps it's a variation - like a conjunction or a shortening."

Mimi bemoaned having to go through this again and decided to sit down on the floor beside Palmon, "I am not getting lost again like last time."

"Same here! If there's another digimon wandering around in here, you guys can take care of it," Palmon waved her hand. Tamer and Agumon continued further into the tunnel, stopping just short of where it disappeared into pitch black. Tamer stared down into the darkness, "Hello! Any rogue digimon in here?"

"We don't bite! Honest! Well, mostly. No promises if you're food!" Agumon said. When there was no reply, Agumon signaled the others with a smile, "I think we're safe, no crazy digimon here."

"It would help if we had a light," Tamer went back to Izzy who still stared at the hieroglyph with fascination. Izzy took a rock off the ground and started scratching in the remaining half of the symbol. When the lines connected, the tunnel came to life with light and startled everyone. The Tamer patted Izzy on the shoulder, "Good work Dizzy. You found the light switch."

"That was a light switch?" Izzy said with disbelief. To test Tamer's claim, he wiped away the half of the symbol he just drew in. The lights died and shrouded the tunnel in darkness. Agumon had wandered further in and could be heard tripping somewhere deep inside, "HEY! TURN THE LIGHTS BACK ON!"

"Sorry!" Izzy quickly redrew the symbol and the lights powered back up. Having witnessed what he could only call a miracle, his mind began flooding with possible explanations. They came out so fast, that he had to start saying them, "So is this like a circuit board and completing the drawing finishes the circuit for power to flow through? If so, what's the power source? Is this like a computer code or perhaps is this written language magic of some sort?

"That's a lot of excitement over a light switch, isn't it?" Tamer looked at him like he'd thrown up, embarrassing the computer whiz. He walked down the lit hall, examining the hieroglyphs, "Let's see if we can't find the map next."

"So what's powering this place?" Izzy followed after him, "This place looks really old, so it can't be electricity. Is it magic like what Piximon has?"

"What? Don't be silly. It's powered by the Fire Wall. Heh, powered by magic. How silly," the Tamer stopped at one of the hieroglyphs, examining it carefully, "Nope. Wrong glyph."

"So what's the Fire Wall?"

"A wall of fire. What else could it be? It has to be one of these glyphs. I was sure of it. Agumon?" Tamer called out to his partner further down the tunnel.

"Haven't found the bathroom yet," Agumon shouted from somewhere further in.

"We're looking for the map! We don't want to get lost!" the Tamer shouted back at him.

"I could use a bathroom too," Biyomon waved her winged hands, "Is there one around here?"

"That's why I'm looking! And how can you get lost in a tunnel? It's a straight run!" Agumon shouted back, "Wait! I think I found…no, wait. This is a closet."

"Help me find a map, then we can find a…oh, wait. Found it," the Tamer stopped at one of the hieroglyphs and erased part of it. As soon as he did, their digivices beeped in unison and began displaying a miniature map of the straight run and all the adjacent rooms. The fact excited Izzy, and he quickly made a note of the hieroglyphs controlling the lights and for the map. Biyomon huddled over Sora to see the map and saw the only bathroom was on the other side of the long tunnel. And the tunnel seemed to extend for quite some distance; so much that it couldn't quite fit the entire thing on such a small display.

"No way! We have to go that far!?" Biyomon whined, "That's not fair!"

"It looks like this tunnel goes out to the other side of the mountain," Matt observed looking at the map. From somewhere deep in the tunnel, Agumon could be heard shouting, "Found the bathroom!"

"Finally!" Biyomon took off. Everyone else followed while Izzy continued to prod the Tamer with questions, all of which were answered with the same disregard.

"So where is this firewall located? Is it nearby or is there some kind of remote connection?"

"It's extradimensional, outside a normal three-dimensional perspective. But it's there, powering this place," the Tamer answered, "Speaking plainly, it's everywhere. You just can't see it."

"Like air and the wind?" TK asked. Tamer opened and closed his mouth a few times, carefully considering what to say. He sighed, "Yes, like air. Except it's not, because you can feel the air and see it blowing through leaves. But you can't really see or feel the Wall of Fire. So…yeah, it's like air."

"Your explanation stopped making sense," Joe commented.

"It does, just not to you. Or did you miss the part about monkey blowing up a village by playing a guitar?" Tamer snarked, reminding them of Koromon Village. They heard the gurgle of toilet water getting flushed, followed by the creak of a door. Agumon appeared and sighed, "That was refreshing!"

"I'm next," Biyomon pushed past him so fast that he fell onto the floor and slammed the door shut behind her. Tamer looked at the door and then back at the others, "You guys better go now if you need to. I'm not stopping for anymore bathroom breaks."

They each took their turn with the one bathroom while Tamer fiddled with his digivice, examining the map and the location of the distress beacon. Sora still kept an eye on him, quietly wondering what'd happened to her friend. She knew she wasn't wrong. This was her friend. This was Tai. But he was completely different and had no memory of her. Was it because of that war Piximon mentioned? Could the experience have been so bad that he lost his memory? But he claimed to be so old, so maybe Tamer was a descendent or a distant relative of Tai. The thought made her shudder - that her friend died on another world with no way to get home. But if that were true, then how did he have a descendant? They hadn't met any other humans in the Digital World.

"If you keep staring, I'm going to assume you have a crush on me or something," Tamer stuck his tongue out at her. She averted her gaze and he laughed, "I'm only joking, Sky. Besides, I'm not the type to date."

"It's Sora," she replied. He nodded, "You get my name right, I get yours."

"Okay, Digimon Tamer," Sora corrected herself with a frown and averting her eyes, "I'm sorry for staring."

"There are worse things you could be looking at," the Tamer replied, his gaze drifting to the others wearily.

"Where are we going anyway? I know it's a distress beacon, but whose is it?"

"No idea."

"So a total stranger calls for help and you just go?" she asked.

"That's usually how it goes Sora," he nodded, "A stranger's just a friend you haven't met yet. When better to go meet them? Plus, you get to make a good first impression."

"Like how you blew up the manor?" Sora chuckled. The Tamer laughed, "We left a good first impression though when we saved your lives."

"If by good you mean crazy," Sora laughed, and he offered her a small chuckle. They kept talking and she found it easier to talk to him than she expected it to be. If anything, she expected him to be more agitated for suggesting he was her friend. It didn't seem to bother him though. He talked and laughed with her while they waited on the others to finish their business. Eventually, they were interrupted by Joe, "Are you two done? Because the tunnel's a dead end."

The Tamer shot him a confused look, "It shouldn't be, Bob. The map says there's an exit that way."

"Well the map is wrong, there's just a wall," Joe stated, pointing further ahead of them to where the others had assembled in front of a wall. Inscribed into the wall was a symbol of a sun beaming down a single large ray. Tamer stared at in disbelief, "No way."

"I was thinking the same thing," Agumon commented, "How do you suppose it got here?"

"I don't know, but the wall's not on the map," Joe said again, "Which means someone modified the tunnel. Who knows what other changes were made."

"Joe's got a point," Agumon nodded, "This was put here. Who do you think did it?"

"Don't care. It's ours now," the Tamer approached the wall and pointed his digivice at it. The stones took on a golden hue and shrank down to the size of coin, revealing the rest of the tunnel behind it and an opening out to more desert. When the light cleared, it left behind a square shaped crystal with the symbol still etched into it and dropped to the floor with a loud clang. Tamer picked up the crystal and carefully examined it, excitedly mumbling, "That makes two now. We're just missing a few more."

"Hey, that looks like those things Palmon found in the well," Mimi noted of the Tamer's new possession. He looked at her, "What?"

"Yeah, see," she reached into her bag and produced two more small crystals - one violet and the other blue. Tamer and Agumon's jaw fell wide open in surprise, their expression pure shock. He swiped them out of her hands so quickly that she didn't realize they were gone until he was holding them in his hands, "Four! Agumon! We have four! Four crests!"

"I know! This is good! This!" Agumon pointed at the crystals, "Is perfect! With this, we might be able to stand a chance!"

"Mimi! I could kiss you right now!" Tamer told her with a manic smile, making her go bright red. She stepped away from him and turned down the offer, "Sorry. I don't like you like that."

"Okay, Dizzy or Lizzie or whatever! Kiss her for me!" he pointed at Izzy and motioned for him to kiss Mimi. The two kids turned bright red, but Mimi's reaction was most telling. It was obvious that Izzy liked Mimi and she teased him for it. Nobody thought for a moment she genuinely liked him back until that moment. This was all lost on Tamer who continued excitedly gawking at the three crystals in his hands. TK and Tokomon peeked at them, curious about what got someone like him excited. The little boy cocked his head to the side when he saw nothing special, "I don't get why people like jewelry so much. You can't play with them."

"Maybe it's because they're so pretty," Tokomon guessed. TK didn't share that mindset and shrugged disinterestedly, "But all you can do is wear them."

"The point, JP," the Tamer said with a manic grin, "Is that these aren't crystals. They're crests. And now we have four crests that allow digimon to digivolve one step further, from champion to ultimate! Think about it! Fighting Etemon with four ultimates - four digimon who can fight him on equal terms. Each! There's no way we can lose! Ha ha!"

"Okay, you're starting to freak me out," Gabumon pulled TK and Tokomon away from Tamer, "Am I the only one thinking that?"

"Nope," Matt and Joe said together. Izzy snapped out of his stupor in time to hear his rant, "So if these crests allow us to digivolve our digimon further, how do we use them?"

He paused briefly to frown then answered with the same jovial smile, "No idea! I've been trying to figure it out, but I still don't have a clue. The only ones who knew how were the ones who made them. And they're not around anymore."

"You mean your people. The…guardians of destiny, or the sages of data, or whatever. You'd think they'd leave instruction manuals or something useful. Then again, you were one of them so shouldn't you have an idea?" Joe thought aloud, earning him a scowl from Tamer, "Piximon told them?"

"Eeyup," Agumon nodded. He grumbled and pocketed the three crests, "I wish he hadn't brought that up. Yes, they made them. No, that doesn't mean I have a clue how the crests work or how to use them."

"Hang on, you said four. But I only counted three," Gomamon waddled up beside him. Tamer reached into his cloak and produced his necklace: a tag dangling off a string. An orange crest with a symbol resembling a sun rested inside the tag. He showed it to them and tucked it away just as quickly, "See? Four!"

He went ahead of them to the exit, and they followed suit. Mimi sheepishly looked at his pocket and asked, "So, can I have those back? I was planning on making friendship bracelets for me and Palmon."

"Aw! You don't have to do that Mimi! We're already best friends!" Palmon smiled to which Mimi happily replied, "I know! And I wanted to do something special for my best friend!"

"The key to saving the Digital World, and you want to make it an accessory?" Agumon asked. Mimi pointed at Tamer, "He wears his like a necklace."

"Well I didn't want to lose this one like I lost the others," he said defensively as they stepped out into the sunlight. They found themselves in a canyon, flanked on both sides by high cliffs that ran in a single direction towards more open desert. Of course, nobody cared for the change in scenery because they all fixated on what he'd said. He'd lost the other crests. After all the mocking he did, he'd lost something that important? All of their frustration bubbled over in one loud, "WHAT!?"

"You probably shouldn't have said that out loud," Agumon mused as Mimi ran up to the Tamer, "You two call me out for wanting to make friendship bracelets! Well what makes you better for _losing_ them!?"

"I was running for my life at the time, I wasn't exactly paying attention!" Tamer snapped back.

"When do you ever pay attention to anything?" Mimi answered.

"You'd be surprised," Tamer said with a mocking smile. He pushed pasted her and she grumbled. Hoping to kill the argument before it escalated, Izzy stepped in to ask, "Since we're talking about this, what exactly are we saving the Digital World from? All we get is vague stuff about prophecies and darkness. But what are we supposed to do anyway? Nobody we've asked has given us a clear answer. We're just kind of wandering around aimlessly, either running for our lives or to save others."

"You really don't want to know," Tamer replied, successfully dodging the question. He checked his digivice again, "Whoever's calling for help should be further ahead."

They were all too peeved to keep talking to either Agumon or Tamer. The duo led them through the canyon and out into the open desert where a single structure could be seen peeking out of the sand: an upside-down pyramid stacked atop a slightly smaller one. Multiple Gazimon and Tyrannomon paced the perimeter around it, on guard and looking agitated. A metal trailer with Etemon's face painted on the front rested next to it, surrounded by a crew of Gazimon moving electrical equipment like speakers and cables.

"What's Etemon doing here!?" Joe shouted in horror, pointing at Etemon happily jaunting out of the trailer with a yawn. Matt covered his mouth and shushed him, although they were too far away to be heard by any of the digimon.

"Well, so much for attacking Piximon. I say we head back before this turns ugly," Gabumon suggested. His response seemed cowardly but was pragmatic. They wouldn't stand a chance if they went out there to try and fight Etemon. Palmon failed to notice this point and argued, "We can't just leave someone when they call for help, can we? How do we know Etemon didn't get it too? And who knows what he's doing to whoever's inside!"

"Or he's the one who set out the signal! Like a trap, only the signal's the bait!" Tentomon countered worriedly. They nodded their agreement silently. Etemon being here was just to perfect of a coincidence to risk bothering to go inside. Agumon noticed their growing reluctance and quickly reminded them, "He's not that smart, remember? He probably heard the signal too and came to look!"

"Well there's no way we're going near that place with all of those digimon around it. It looks like there's more here than there were at Koromon Village," Izzy observed carefully, counting every single digimon they saw wandering the outskirts of the pyramid. Indeed, there were many more than they'd encountered before. Tamer assessed the area and declared, "We have to get in there. If Etemon's here, then that must mean whoever sent out the distress signal is important enough for him to want to show up."

"How would you know that? Like Tentomon said, this could be a trap!" Sora countered seriously. Tamer shook his head, "No, this signal came in on a channel that only my people would know how to use. If that's the case, there's a good chance there's someone else in there like me."

That was when it made sense. Why the Tamer seemed so intent on going to this distress signal so quickly. Piximon indicated that Tamer was the last of his kind, so the chance of finding another one like himself was more than enough reason for him to go. What annoyed them was getting dragged along for the ride. Agumon mused quietly at the number of digimon, deep in thought and asked, "Bait and switch?"

"Nah, too many," the Tamer replied, "Fight then flight?"

"I'm not doing that after we walked through the desert for a couple of days," Agumon protested, "Shock and awe?"

"Can you make one that big?" the Tamer asked. Agumon pointed at the other digimon and Tamer understood immediately. However, he had his doubts about their ability to do it, "I don't think they can pull off a plan like this. One mistake and it all goes up in our faces."

"What are you two doing?" Izzy asked. Without looking, Agumon answered, "Trying to think of a way to sneak into the pyramid. Ooh! I know! How about hide and seek?"

"I love that game!" TK squealed excitedly, "Are we playing?"

"That could work," Tamer nodded, carefully examining the area again, "Okay guys. You sit tight for a minute while Agumon and I go draw them away. When it's all clear, go for the pyramid. We'll catch up to you guys later."

"Slow down! We're all tired from walking for days and if things go wrong, we'll get destroyed! It would make more sense to wait a day so that we can rest," Joe argued to them. Tamer's expression soured, "Yeah, I'll be sure to wait a day the next time you guys get captured. Which shouldn't be long with how often that happens to you guys."

"I'm just being practical. You can't march people across the desert under the blazing hot sun for days and expect them to be at a hundred percent! Plus, it'd be nice to go in with more of a plan than this," Joe asserted more seriously. Agumon turned to his partner, "He makes a good point y'know. Actually, he makes a lot of good points."

Tamer's expression moved between deliberation and frustration, but he agreed, "Yeah, he does. Why don't you guys go back in to the tunnel and set up camp? We'll go scout the area!"

The duo ran off into the desert, leaving the rest to head back inside. Matt handled the food and the preparation work with Gabumon to start a fire in the hall. The supplies Piximon had given them consisted of dried meat, various sauces, hardtack bread, bottles of water, dried vegetables, and utensils for eating. He didn't make anything fancy, although he did bathe the meats in sauce as he cooked it over the fire with skewers, filling the air with the welcome and savory smell. While the rest of them drooled over Matt's cooking, Izzy went back to studying the hieroglyphs since Tamer wasn't forthcoming with answers. There had to be some explanation as to how modifying the characters could have physical effects on the world around them. He began experimenting by smudging out parts of characters and seeing what would happen, although there didn't appear to be any serious changes to the tunnel that he could see. This suggested that it had to be specific characters that were modified in order to induce the changes, and he knew which ones controlled the lights and showed the map. Now he wondered if the manner of alteration affected the change. He was about to start his next experiment by wiping away the other side of the character for the lights when Agumon called out, "We're back! What's that smell? It's delicious."

"Just making something for us to eat," Matt explained, turning over each skewer of meat carefully. He didn't let them cook too long since they were already dried, but he did skewer a few of the veggies to roast. It was far from the best thing Matt prepared for them, but they were thankful all the same to eat something after their long trek. And they expressed their gratitude by devouring everything he'd made at eating time. Agumon and Tamer joined them around the fire to their surprise, although neither of them said a word as they ate. TK and Tokomon made up for it by complimenting Matt's cooking, but he returned their praise with curt nods and grunts. Matt still couldn't get the images of the cave out of his head and looking at his little brother only brought up the unwanted memories. TK picked up on Matt's constantly shifting attention and asked, "Is there something wrong Matt? Do I have something on my face?"

"No, it's nothing buddy," Matt lied, although his response looked like it was enough for TK. TK looked at his older brother nervously, "Matt, are you mad at me?"

The question startled the older brother, "What? No, I couldn't be mad at you! Why would you even think that?"

"Because you haven't said anything to me since we left Piximon and you keep looking at me like I did something wrong," TK frowned sheepishly, cowed by his older brother, "Whatever I did, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset."

"You didn't do anything wrong buddy. I'm just tired from the training," Matt offered as an explanation. This seemed to be enough for his little brother and he went back to eating. He was surprised by his little brother's observational ability and was left uneasy.

After they'd finished eating, they rested for the night while Tamer agreed to stay watch again. It wasn't a difficult endeavor, they were all tired from the trip and Tamer found himself agreeing with Joe's earlier assessment. Only Matt had difficulty sleeping, a problem ever since the cave training. He just couldn't stop thinking about the TK in the cave, and how his brother chewed him out for babying him. Occasionally he adjusted his position on the ground, but the cold floor didn't help lull him to sleep. He would've stayed close to the fire, but Tamer insisted they put it out to avoid giving themselves away to Etemon and his army. He rolled over again in the dark and spotted Tamer sitting at the entrance quietly. He said he'd failed Piximon's training and Piximon was reluctant to let them in.

But why?

What happened that could've been so bad. Unable to sleep and his mind racing with troubled thoughts, Matt quietly rose off the ground to join him. The kid didn't event look when Matt sat down next to him, but he did quietly say, "Hello Matt."

"You got my name right," Matt said in surprise. Tamer didn't react and continued staring out at the pyramid. Most of Etemon's group had gone to sleep, with a few Tyrannomon still patrolling the surrounding area. Finally, Tamer asked, "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

Matt sat down beside him; hesitantly rethinking whether or not talking to him was a good idea. Eventually, he asked, "I wanted to ask you something about that cave. You said if we went in, we'd see our greatest fear. Well, how do you deal with it?"

"What do you mean?" Tamer looked up at him, surprised. Matt locked eyes with him and said, "Agumon said you guys failed the test and the cave had different effects on both of you. You don't have to tell me what you saw but…how did you deal with it? I saw TK when I was in there. I watched him die, over and over again. Then, when Gabumon and I finally helped him, he got mad at us. He told me to stop treating him like a child and that he could take care of himself. It was…just too real."

"It is real," Tamer said softly, "The fact is, the cave can only show truths that you don't want to admit. Things that are holding you back. Your brother is growing up, getting older, and your greatest fear is that one day he won't need you. Which leads us to an interesting question. Yes, TK is young and he does need a lot of protecting. But does he need you as much as you need him?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course he needs me!" Matt snapped. Tamer shrugged, "Are you sure it's not the other way around?"

Matt paused to think. Perhaps it was true, he needed TK more than TK needed him. That idea filled him with so much dread that he thought he would sink to his knees from the weight. Tamer remained impossible to read as he stared blankly at him. The answer to Tamer's question seemed obvious, but he didn't want to say it, so he asked something else, "How did you deal with what you saw?"

"I went crazy Marc," Tamer said goofily. He got his name wrong suddenly and sounded less serious than before. Matt wasn't sure if this was an attempt to make him feel better or it was the truth, although he was more unnerved than he was a few minutes ago. Tamer's smile faded to a frown and he said more seriously, "Look Matt, your brother's experiences here are making him stronger as a person. One day, he won't need your help to stand on his own two feet. What you should ask yourself is this: will you help him get there or will you continue to coddle him? What should you do as his older brother?"

Matt remained silent, deep in thought. Tamer's answer terrified him more than he wanted to admit, but kept his calm demeanor. Or at least he tried to. He fell into his nervous habit of playing his harmonica when he was anxious and retrieved it from his pocket. It was difficult to play it quietly, so he moved some distance from the tunnel entrance to keep from waking the others. He kept the tunnel in sight though and played softly under the cool moonlit desert.

* * *

The next morning, Tamer carefully explained the plan to get in. He and Agumon would create a distraction and lure Etemon's digimon away. Once it was clear, they would rush inside and find the one sending out the distress signal. Izzy took notes on manipulating the glyphs, specifically for controlling the lights and the map.

Tamer and Agumon headed out off to one side of the pyramid while the others went around to the other side, taking cover behind a dune and waiting.

There was a loud fiery bang that blew a hole in the side of the pyramid. Greymon appeared and rained fireballs at the digimon surrounding the upside down pyramid. The Gazimon and Tyrannomon scrambled around in panic until Etemon appeared to berate their incompetence. He reorganized his digimon and had them charging for Greymon. Tamer appeared atop his head and flashed a bright light from his digivice - temporarily blinding their pursuers. Greymon took this opportunity to run away while Etemon furiously shouted and roared at his digimon to go after them. He returned to his trailer and they went off in pursuit of the Tamer and Greymon.

"Okay, that was pretty cool," Matt admitted.

"That's our cue! Let's go!" Sora shouted at them. They dashed straight to the base of the pyramid where they found no doors or any other point of entry. Circling around it a few times only confirmed there was no way in. After one more look around, Joe sighed and leaned against the wall, "This is hopeless. Where is the entrance to this pla-ACK!"

As Joe placed his hand on the wall, he found it was not as solid as it seemed and vanished. Gomamon went to the spot Joe was standing moments ago and shouted, "JOE! JOE!"

"I'm fine!" he groaned from within the pyramid. His head appeared through the wall like a mounted trophy animal, "I think I found the front door."

"Prodigious!" Izzy said excitedly, "Another illusion hiding an entrance. This might be more commonplace than I thought. I wonder what else we'll find."

"We won't learn anything standing out here," Tentomon began pushing them inside, "Let's go! I don't want to be outside when Etemon comes back."

The interior shared the design of the tunnel they'd found earlier - dusty stonewalls lined with more hieroglyphs. A fine layer of dust settled on the floor, disturbed by a series of monkey shaped footprints going back and forth. Izzy found the hieroglyph for the lights and quickly redrew the missing half. The halls and rooms were quickly illuminated, revealing a straight hallway and stairs. He then found the one for the map, erased half of it, and watched each of their digivices beep to life with the information.

"Fascinating," Izzy said excitedly, "If only we knew how it worked. Technology like this would be a game changer! Manipulating words to alter the physical world. I wonder what would happen if I did this?"

He wiped away part of another hieroglyph and a hologram appeared before them - a three dimensional map of the pyramid's interior. Although it would've been more accurate to call it a labyrinth. The map revealed that the bottom pyramid was buried under a large layer of sand and was bigger than they gave it credit for. Even more, the bottom pyramid was also connected to another upside-down pyramid further beneath it. Excited by his discovery, Izzy exclaimed, "Prodigious! A three dimensional map of the building! I'll have to remember this."

"Good work Izzy," Matt slapped his shoulder, then pointed at the hologram, "Look that's where we came in."

"And those blinking dots must be us," Gabumon pointed at blinking red dots on the three dimensional map. He then gestured to a single lone dot in a room further into the pyramid, "And I'm betting that's where the distress signal's coming from!"

"Alright, it's about time we met this person. Let's go save them!" Sora cheered, "Izzy, do you think you can save the map to you computer?"

"Already on it," Izzy said, typing furiously on his laptop, "I can't copy the map, but I can write the directions down."

"Yeah, I'd hate to get lost in here," Tentomon buzzed around the map to better examine it, "I wonder if that's why the digimon sent out the distress signal."

"I wouldn't blame them," Mimi frowned – thinking about how she'd gotten lost in the temple, "I'm surprised anyone could navigate this."

"Got it!" Izzy picked up his laptop and pointed ahead, "Okay, follow me!"

Izzy guided them with his directions through the maze of hallways within the pyramid. Further within, the stone walls gave way to smooth metallic surfaces lined with wires and lights. Cameras were mounted on every corner and rotated on a swivel as they passed by. They eventually found the room where the distress signal was coming from - a large room with a computer on the far side whose screen took up the entire wall. In the middle was a pedestal encased in several glass pyramids. Within was a small metallic can with legs, wiry arms and bulging eyes. It motioned at them and its eyes started blinking between yellow and red flashes. Izzy's computer began talking with a mechanical voice, "At last! Please! Help me! You must release me before Etemon returns!"

"Are you the one who sent us the distress signal?" Izzy asked.

"Yes, it was me! I am Datamon! I have been Etemon's prisoner in this pyramid for many years! Please! Help me!" the digimon pleaded.

"Datamon. Haven't we heard that name before?" Gabumon mused to himself, trying his best to remember where he'd heard the name before.

"How exactly are you talking out of Izzy's computer?" Sora asked. Izzy looked at Datamon's blinking eyes and concluded, "I get it! You're using the IR port on my laptop to transmit data!"

"Yes, yes. You're very clever. Now please, let me out!" Datamon said again.

"You said you were Etemon's prisoner. Were you one of the digimon he went around capturing?" Gomamon asked. Datamon nodded from within his prison, "Yes. You see, I once dared to challenge Etemon a long time ago. Our battle wrought devastation all around us but my power was not enough to stand against the likes of him. I lost and he imprisoned me here to set an example to anyone else who would dare challenge him. As part of my punishment, he forced to be the system admin for his dark network - forcibly connecting me to it to rob me of my free will and make me his slave. Fortunately, I was able to develop a resistance to its effects over the years and gain control over some of the network's properties. This allowed me to…wait, those devices. Are those digivices?"

Sora produced her digivice, "Yep! I'm Sora, these are Matt, TK, Izzy, Mimi, Joe, Biyomon, Gabumon, Gomamon, Tokomon, Palmon, and Tentomon!"

"Then, are you the digidestined?" Datamon asked.

"Yeah, that's right!" Palmon answered for them, "We're here to help bust you out!"

"Splendid! I have something that could be of use for you! A crest!" Datamon reached for a slot on his back and produced a red crest with a heart etched into it, "This was meant for you. I acquired during my battle with Etemon, although he has no idea that I have it. Release me and I will give it to you in exchange!"

"Y'know I gotta ask. That's glass. How exactly is that holding you prisoner? It's not like you can't just break out of there," Matt pointed out, "You're made of metal."

"It's not glass, it's a hard light prison. The light condenses and forms a material that's harder than…what am I talking about? Please, I've been imprisoned here for so long! Just push the button that lets me out!" Datamon pointed to a large red button on a control panel on the opposite side of the room, "That controls the power to the prison I've been contained in for so long."

"Okay!" Palmon dashed to the button and slammed down on it with her hand. The glass around Datamon flickered for a moment before vanishing and Datamon leapt off the podium. He approached Sora with the crest extended outward to hand it to her. As she went to take it, Etemon stated, "Fool."

"Wha-"

Datamon was deceptively fast for his small mechanical size. Before any of them realized it, he grabbed TK by the collar of his shirt and dragged him to a corner of the room while cackling manically, "Didn't your mothers ever tell you not to talk to strangers?"

"TK!" Matt screamed in horror. This was the cave all over again, but he would be damned if he let his little brother get hurt without him.

"Matt! Tokomon! Help!" TK cried, trying to break Datamon's grip. Datamon used his other hand to slap TK so hard that he yelped, a sound that had Matt throwing himself at Datamon angrily, "LET GO OF MY LITTLE BROTHER YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!"

His outburst startled the tiny mechanical digimon just long enough for him to tackle it to the ground. Its grip loosened and TK was able to scurry away behind Gabumon and Tokomon. As noble as that was, Datamon was still a machine. He easily threw Matt off and grabbed Sora. Once again, he moved too quickly to see and was dragging Sora to the door before they knew what was happening. She tried to kick him free, but Datamon bent her foot at an angle it was never meant to. The sudden sharp pain sent a jolt up her leg and she screamed. Biyomon chased after them, "LET HER GO!"

Mimi yelled at the machine, "What's your deal!? We helped you out! You called for help and-"

"Perhaps instead of asking why I never escaped, you should have asked what hard light is?" Datamon said. He wiped a part of hieroglyph from the side of the wall and a glass door appeared to lock them in the room. Datamon laughed, "That's a hard light field. Now you'll never escape this prison! Hahaha!"

Realization dawned on Gabumon, "I remember now! He's one of the evil digimon that Leomon was talking about! The one that went missing!"

"So this is where you've been! Well we'll make sure you don't leave!" Biyomon declared, charging straight for the glass. She slammed into it with a loud thud and fell to the floor. Sora shrieked, "Biyomon!"

"Didn't I tell you that this wasn't glass?" Datamon mocked them, "That's harder than steel! You'll never be able to break it!"

"After we helped you, you're just going to leave us here?" Joe shouted at Datamon, who mockingly repeated him in a whiny tone. He cleared his throat and explained, "I'm allowing you to live. Consider that your payment for releasing me from my pris-"

CLANK!

The sound of metal striking metal reverberated through the room. Datamon was knocked into the wall and hit the floor with a thud, the red crest falling beside him. Sora used the chance to scramble for the glyph Datamon wiped away to close the door. She tried to scratch the missing portion of the hieroglyph back in, until a large orange hand grabbed her wrist. She followed the arm up to see a pair of sunglasses staring down at her.

"Now see here!" Etemon growled, "I didn't come this way to watch you snot nosed brats free my prisoner! I locked him up for a reason and I ain't letting him get away! Uh huh! But seeing as you're here, this saves me the trouble of tracking you down."

"It's Etemon!" they screamed from within the computer room, watching the monkey digimon lift up Sora with his arm. He held his microphone stand in his other hand and examined it carefully, "And look at that! My stand's all bent!"

"But how! Agumon and Tamer were supposed to lure you away!" Gomamon remarked. Etemon laughed, "What? You think I'm dumb enough to fall for some cheap distraction like that? My boys might be dumb as rocks but Etemon ain't no fool! Uh huh!"

"Did he just talk about himself in the third person?" Joe asked critically.

Datamon tried to get up, but Etemon put a foot on him to keep him on the ground, "Clearly, I made a mistake in letting you live coz I had to deal with the Digimon Tamer and his partner. Then I had to break my microphone stand from hitting you. I ain't making that mistake twice."

"Don't you want to know how I sent out that signal?" Datamon cackled from under Etemon's foot, a noise that quickly became gasps as Etemon pressed harder, "Nah. See you're type is the type that likes to talk when they ain't in a position to talk. But no matter how big ya think ya are, there's always somethin' bigger. Understand?"

"That's where you're correct, Etemon," Datamon managed while being crushed, "There is always something bigger."

Datamon swiped at one of the glyphs and the floor disappeared beneath Etemon, to reveal a mesh of black wires and cables beneath. The cables writhed and squirmed, as though it were alive. Some even reached out to grab anything that would get close. Etemon stumbled briefly, dropping Sora as he fell into the hole in the floor. By some luck, he managed to grab hold of the floor tiles and hold on for dear life, "You little! What did you do!?"

"Not so smug now that you're the one at my mercy! Behold the dark network you had me administer for so long, Etemon! With a few modifications I made myself. Anything that falls into that mass of cables would be lost forever! See how it writhes as it seeks to grow and consume anything it can get within its reach! I've waited a long time to unleash it upon you!" Datamon boasted maniacally. He took hold of Etemon's fingers and started crushing them between his metallic hands, "I always knew revenge would be sweet but this is just divine!"

While Datamon mocked Etemon, Sora returned to the glyph Datamon erased and began scratching back it back in. It was sloppily made and poorly drawn, but it was enough to make the door holding the others back disappear. Biyomon took a running start and pushed Datamon into the hole in the floor, "Take that! You don't ever lay a finger on Sora!"

Datamon latched on to Etemon as he fell, cursing at her, "Gragh! You!"

"Hey! Let go!" Etemon shook his leg wildly. Datamon only grabbed on with his other arm, cackling wildly, "No! I will have my revenge for what you did to me! If I'm going down, then I'll take you with me!"

Sora tried to stand but felt immense pain in her ankle. She didn't know when, but guessed Datamon twisted it when he grabbed her. Biyomon ran under her partner to support her, "Are you okay!?"

"Yeah, I think Datamon broke my ankle," Sora grunted, leaning on her partner to keep off her bad foot.

"Here," Joe came along side her to support he while she walked, "Keep off that leg. Biyomon, we'll have to carry her out."

"The crest!" Sora pointed. Mimi scooped it up and examined it cheerfully "Got it! This'll look pretty next to the others."

"Let's go already!" Matt shouted, reminding them they were still in trouble. Mimi tucked the crest into her bag and followed the others as they snuck around the gap in the floor. Etemon was still distracted with kicking Datamon off his leg, and didn't realize they were trying to sneak away. He only realized what was going on when Mimi accidentally kicked a stone underfoot and it bounced off his head. When he saw they were almost gone, he reached for the closest one. Unfortunately for Mimi, that was her and her long skirt was easily latched onto. He steeled his grip and growled, "I'm not letting any of ya'll get out of here!"

Matt, Izzy, Palmon and Gabumon grabbed on to Mimi and they started a tug of war with her as the rope. She shrieked while both sides tried to pull her their way, "Stop! You'll ruin my clothes!"

"Not the time Mimi!" Gabumon said back, moving to tear Mimi's skirt at the bottom, "We need to cut you loose!"

"Don't you dare!" she snapped, scaring the poor digimon back. Etemon watched their display and growled, "Listen here! If I'm going down! I'm taking you all with me!"

"Let go!" Mimi shrieked.

"What are you guys doing?"

They looked up to see the Tamer standing there looking slightly bewildered at the sight before him. He looked from Mimi, to Etemon, to Datamon, then the massive hole around them. He then casually walked around the edge of the hole while remarking, "I don't even want to know."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** And done. Will they get out alive? What does Tamer think they're doing? Where's Agumon? Come back next week for my update on Friday, February 19th. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I usually respond in a day or two, unless you leave a guest review. Then I'll reply in the next update! I also welcome constructive criticism and guesses what will happen next. See you guys next week for Chapter 16!


	16. Garudamon

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hello all you fantastic people. Thanks for reviewing, reading, and favoriting the Tamer – A Digimon Adventure. Another big thanks to Ace Spiritwell for the coverart. Seriously, go read their fan fiction and check out their deviantart. Okay, now let's start the next chapter

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 16: Garudamon**

"No, wait I do want to know," the boy changed his mind, "Etemon, I know you're music career is on hold but I don't think that's a valid excuse to chase girls and grab their skirts. Especially girls who are ten. That's just creepy."

Mimi yelped and quickly tried rearranging her skirt - worried that Etemon grabbed onto it for more than one reason. Etemon grew furious at accusation and spat back, "Oh you think you're real funny, don't ya? When I get out of here, I'm gonna crush you! Then, my boys and I will have fun with your friends."

"Yeah, about that. Greymon is outside playing with them. I nice old rousing game of-"

"Will you stop joking around?" Mimi shrieked, "This guy's trying to take my clothes off!"

"When else is there a better time to joke?" Tamer asked, continuing around the opposite side of the hole to stand beside Mimi, "It calms the nerves, let's you think clearly, buys you time and makes a perfect distraction for when you do this."

He held up his digivice and it flashed a blinding light. Mimi felt Etemon's grip loosen, followed by a crack and a howl of agony. When her vision returned, she saw Etemon now hanging desperately by one hand. His other arm dangled uselessly beside him, bent backwards at the elbow and the shoulder. The sight of it made her sick, but not as much as the sight of Tamer pointing his digivice downwards at Etemon. The look in his eyes reminded them of Koromon Village - the frenzied rage that had no qualms with taking life. Even with his sunglasses on, it was clear Etemon was afraid, "Wait! Can't we talk about this?"

"No we can't," Tamer replied. From his position, Datamon was able to get a good look at Tamer's face, "You! It can't be! You're the one who caused all this! If it weren't for you, my plans wouldn't have failed! I never would have been a prisoner and I would be standing as the ruler of this world!"

"That's nice. Who are you?" Tamer asked.

"I am Datamon! My strategies and schemes were second to none! And I was regarded as one of the best strategists of my time! I would have succeeded in my coup against Etemon if you hadn't interfered all those years ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do?"

"Are you mocking me? Me! One of your greatest enemies! We fought for-"

"Wait! I seem to have stopped caring," Tamer interrupted, infuriating Datamon to the point that he could only speak angry gibberish. With eyes still locked onto Etemon, Tamer said, "Matt, you might not want TK to see this. Same to you Mimi. Palmon, get her out of here. Go on ahead and we'll catch up."

"You got our names right," Tokomon noted nervously. His serious tone mixed with the fire in his eyes had them nervous. They could still remember how he'd savagely beaten a Gazimon to death and now he was in a position to do the same thing to Etemon.

"I'm not giving another warning," Tamer said calmly. Matt had already covered TK's ears and started pushing him to the exit despite the little boy's protests. Mimi didn't say a word as Palmon helped guide her away, although she did make a conscious effort to adjust her skirt. Joe instructed Sora and Biyomon, "We should go too. It'll take us a while to get out of here with your leg like that."

Sora shook her head and refused to go. One look was all it took for her to realize that without Agumon here to talk sense to him and calm him down, Tamer had lost himself to his anger. She tried to muster the courage to say something to calm him down. But words failed her. She could only watch Etemon make one more plea for his life, "Look! I know what you're thinking. Should I push Etemon in the hole? And the answer might surprise you."

"I think the answer is kick him in there faster," Tamer stated.

"What do you want? Tell me, and I'll help you get it! Anything you want, just name it!" Etemon pleaded.

"Anything?" Tamer asked.

"Yeah! Anything!" Etemon repeated, a nervous grin etching itself on his face. Tamer returned it with a manic grin of his own, "Then bring back Koromon Village."

The grin on Etemon's face vanished as the Tamer raised his digivice. They didn't know what he was about to do, but everyone there lost the desire to stop him. They hadn't forgotten the events of Koromon Village and they knew that he hadn't either. He seemed like he didn't care at first but now they understood why. He'd buried all that anger and frustration for a moment like this - when Etemon would be at his mercy. Sora recalled Piximon telling her to forget the possibility that Tamer was her friend. Now she understood why. Why Piximon called the boy a murderer. And she had to stop him, "DIGIMON TAMER! DON'T!"

He froze briefly, still aiming his digivice at Etemon but adjusting his gaze to look at Sora. Buried beneath the fire in his eyes was a tiny glimmer of sadness. She couldn't blame him for wanting to do this, but he couldn't do it. This wasn't the Tai she remembered and he needed to be reminded of that, "This isn't right! You're not a murderer. You're supposed to be a hero!"

"I'm not a hero. There's a reason I sometimes get called a murderer and a monster. And this guy is one of the biggest monsters in the Digital World. And in a world full of monsters, that's saying something! And guess what? He's found himself at the mercy of the biggest monster out there!" Tamer stated with a manic grin, still aiming his digivice at Etemon. When Etemon started trying to pull himself back up, he stomped his foot on Etemon's hand and ground it against the floor, "No, you don't."

"Tamer! Please listen! This won't bring back Koromon Village and it won't bring back all those digimon! Killing him won't solve anything!"

"Do you think I don't know that? Of course it won't! No duh! This is about making sure no one else dies because of him. No one else suffers. If he lives, he'll only cause more harm! More destruction and death! The one good thing he can do is die!"

"Or, he'll go back to his music career and never bother anyone ever again."

Tamer eyed her like she said the sky was red. It was look of skeptical disbelief, "And what do you think his music career is? Maybe you haven't noticed, but his music tends to destroy things or weaken digimon! Why do you think he had to go around capturing digimon to listen to his music? He wasn't forcing digimon to listen to it because of his ego! He was experimenting! Making weapons! That's how he destroyed Koromon Village! AND HE HAS TO PAY!"

There was another blinding burst of light from his digivice and another scream. Etemon fell into the mesh of wires with Datamon, screaming in agony. The wires and cables moved on their own to wrap around the two helpless digimon, dragging them under the tangled mess. The unseemly sight had them turning their eyes away from the horror of being devoured by cables. Datamon cursed at the Tamer, who completely ignored him to redraw a hieroglyph on the wall. When he finished, the hole in the wall shrank until it disappeared entirely - leaving no trace that it was ever there.

Sora looked at the Tamer in stunned horror. Piximon was right. If this was Tai, then it was no longer the Tai she knew. She looked at Gomamon, expecting him to lash out about the killing and to call Tamer crazy. Instead, he looked genuinely thankful for what he did. The Tamer clapped his hands together and smiled as if nothing happened, "Okay, let's go find whoever's sending out the distress signal!"

"I think you just dropped him in the hole," Tentomon said sheepishly.

"Etemon?"

"No, Datamon," Izzy explained, "He sent out the distress signal."

The Tamer's face soured, although he did his best to hide the disappointment, "So…there was no one else here? No one like me?"

Their silence told him everything he needed to know and he sighed, dejected, "It's my own fault for getting my hopes up. Okay, let's go join the others."

No one said a word and moved out of his way anxiously as he strode past with a solemn gaze. Suddenly, the entire pyramid shook and rumbled violently. Izzy looked around at the walls and asked, "Um...is that supposed to happen?"

"I don't think so," the Tamer looked up at the ceiling, "Now might be a good time to run!"

They ran as fast as they could while the pyramid continued to shake and rattle. Joe, Sora, and Biyomon lagged behind because of her injured leg. As the shaking grew more violent, part of the hallway behind them collapsed. Time was running out for their escape and they had to move faster. Tamer relieved Joe and wrapped Sora's arm over his shoulders. She panicked at first; still shaken from how ruthlessly he killed Etemon and how he carried on as if nothing happened. She was no longer sure if she even wanted his help. That sentiment changed when the pyramid shook so violently that bricks started to topple out of the wall. After that, he lowered himself to the ground so that she could climb onto his back. He tucked his arms under her legs and she wrapped her arms around his neck, adjusting her head so that it didn't get buried in his mess of hair. He smiled encouragingly and said, "Hang on tight! We've got to keep moving! This pyramid could come down on top of us any second!"

Despite the extra weight, he moved so fast that he easily kept pace with the others. They caught up with Mimi, Palmon, Matt, TK, Tokomon, and Gabumon standing at the entrance to the pyramid and gazing out into a sandstorm raging wildly outside so thick that they could barely see past the door. Mimi squeaked, "What's going on out there?"

"It's a sandstorm! A wind storm shaking loose sand off dry surfaces common to arid areas, like this desert!" Izzy explained. The Tamer adjusted his goggles over his face, "We're going to have to go out there!"

"Are you kidding? The sand will get in our eyes! And we don't have goggles like you do!" Joe protested.

The Tamer looked at him dumbfounded, "Because the pyramid falling on your head is so much better. Just close your eyes and follow the sound of my voice. We'll get through it."

Before any of them could protest, the Tamer ran out with Sora still on his back. Sora could be heard screaming to turn back but that quickly died down. Whether it was from the overpowering roar of the winds or the fact that she'd probably gotten a mouthful of sand was anyone's guess. They reluctantly went out with their eyes closed, listening for the Tamer and Sora's voices through the roar of the winds. They walked blind through the sand storm until a deafening boom echoed through the air and the winds briefly died.

They opened their eyes to see Greymon standing in front of them, acting as a large windshield with his arms and legs planted firmly on the ground. All around them, the sand continued rushing past with dozens of Gazimon, Tyrannomon and Monochromon being blown with it. A few tried grabbing hold of the sand for dear life, but the winds and the shifting sand made it impossible to get a good grip. Behind them, the pyramid crumbled to pieces as it sank into the desert.

"What's happening?" Gomamon shouted, "Why's the pyramid sinking?"

"I think we're going to find out!" Matt cried over the roar of the sands. As he spoke, the top of the pyramid erupted in an explosion of brick, mortar, metal, and sand. A black mass of cables and wires tangled together emerged out of the top of the smoking roof, writhing and coiling like serpents. The winds shifted direction upwards and pulled the other digimon into the mess cables. Once they were caught, the cables wrapped around them and pulled them further in. They heard uproarious laughter coming from atop the living wires and cables, howling with joy as more digimon were absorbed and grafted into the tangled mess. And sticking half out of the top of wires was Etemon, joined at the waist with the tangled web that now wrapped around and dug into his skin. Or so it seemed. On further inspection, they realized Etemon's body was half encased in metal like armor and his head was replaced by something that resembled Etemon's body. The hybrid monster roared, "HAHAHAHA! DNA DIGIVOLUTION INCOMPATIBLE, STABILITY LOW! HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT, SONNY BOY? ERROR…ERROR…THIS ROCK STAR'S ABOUT TO BECOME A ROCK LEG-LEGEND-LEGEND, WITH HIS-HIS COME BACK TOUR!"

His voice was somewhere between mechanical and enthusiastic, and he twitched each time he began repeating himself.

"Oh no! Etemon's back!" Tentomon whimpered. They all marveled at the monstrosity Etemon had become, speechless and unable to articulate what to say. Tamer lowered Sora to the ground and growled, "Why can't you just die already!?"

"ROCK LEGENDS DO NOT DIE-DIE-DIE THERE SONNY! WE LIVE FOREVER-EVER-EVER-EVER!" Etemon answered. His voice had taken on more monstrous flare, it sounded mechanical like he was talking through a tin can but while he was doing multiple impersonations of other digimon at the same time. The Tamer stared at him in a daze, massaging his head and blinking repeatedly.

"What's happening to Etemon? How did he get like that?" Biyomon's voice shook as she asked.

"I don't know but it's wrong," Tamer mumbled. He was pale and sickly looking as he spoke, "It's very wrong. That's not…that shouldn't be possible. It's like…all the digimon he absorbed are…no…it's like they're merging…I can't…That shouldn't happen...it's not supposed to happen..."

"Hey, are you alright? You're looking sick! Don't pass out on us now," Matt nudged Tamer lightly, but it was enough for him to sway so far that he looked like he was about to fall. He caught himself but had to lean on one of Greymon's arms. He mumbled, "It's not right. I don't know what that is…but it shouldn't exist. And it hurts…it makes my head hurts."

"WHAT'S THE-THE-THE MAT-MATTER? ANALYSIS COMPLETE. SUBJECT IS AFRAID-AID-AID! UH HUH! HERE, HAVE A TASTE OF THIS NEW PIECE I MADE! I CALL IT DARK SPIRIT CRUSH!"A ball of black energy appeared in Etemon's hand and he lobbed it straight at them.

"Stop!" Tamer raised out his digivice towards the ball of energy and it hummed to life with white light. The dark ball of energy shrank as it came in contact with the light, but it still punched through and struck Tamer in the chest. It threw him backwards with enough force to send him back into Greymon's leg, which he hit with a loud crack.

"Tamer!" Greymon roared. He wanted to check his partner, but keeping himself planted was the only thing keeping the others from getting blown away with the wind.

"Tai!" Sora cried out, looking at the unmoving boy. Joe ran to check him, "He's breathing, but he's out cold."

She took up her digivice, "Biyomon! Can you get us out of here?"

Biyomon took one look at the roaring winds and sand billowing around them. Any attempt to fly would have her blown away, "Not a chance."

"Then I guess we have to fight," Sora nodded, recalling the memories in the cave. There was no reason to be afraid. She trusted Biyomon and knew that she'd be fine if they worked together, "Guys?"

"A little payback for Koromon Village would be nice," Joe agreed. Their most cautious member had just thrown safety out the window, preferring to face their enemy head on. None of them could argue with his reasoning and they all nodded in agreement. Their digimon ran out from under Greymon. They had to stop Etemon or whatever he'd become. They would stop him. To protect their friends and, for Sora, to help Tai. Even if he was different, her friend was still in there somewhere. She saw it in the soft smile when he carried her out.

"Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

"Gomamon! Digivolve to! Ikakumon!"

"Gabumon! Digivolve to! Garurumon!"

"Palmon! Digivolve to! Togemon!"

"Tentomon! Digivolve to! Kabuterimon!"

The champion level digimon scattered around to avoid being a large target, while doing their best to stay out of the harmful effects of the wind. Ikakumon's weight made it easier for him to stay in one spot, while Birdramon and Kabuterimon could only fly for moments at a time before losing control and needing to land. Etemon lobbed a few more of his dark energy spheres at them, forcing their digimon to keep on the move. They warped the ground they impacted, leaving only a mess of sand and dirt. They continued scattering and moving in different directions, forcing Etemon to divide his attention as they attacked the moment he looked away. Ikakumon took the first shot at Etemon, "Harpoon Torpedo!"

His horn blasted away like a missile and exploded on one the wires swinging loose off Etemon's form. He didn't even flinch when the explosion rocked his form, slightly turning his head to the side, "WHAT? WARNING! DO YOU WANT A GO, TOO? UH HUH! ALERT! DON'T WORRY, THERE'S PLENTY OF DATA-DATAMO-DATA-ETEMON TO GO AROUND!"

He lobbed another ball of energy at Ikakumon, who just barely managed to move out of its way. Garurumon took advantage of the distraction by firing blue flames from his mouth, "Howling Blaster!"

"Electroshocker!" Kabuterimon briefly took the air and circled behind Etemon, and the two attacks caught him unawares. Like Ikakumon, he shrugged off both attacks and focused on Kabuterimon - who lost his balance in the air and tried to land himself gently on the ground. All it took was one sphere from Etemon's hand but it struck with enough force to blow Kabuterimon away. He regressed back into an unconscious Tentomon, and started getting pulled with the wind into Etemon's mass of cables. Izzy screamed for his partner to wake up, "TENTOMON! GET UP! TENTOMON!"

When he didn't budge, Izzy went to run out of Greymon's cover only to be grabbed by both Mimi and Matt, "Don't! You'll get pulled away too!"

"TENTOMON! WAKE UP! YOU'LL GET SUCKED INTO ETEMON LIKE THE OTHER DIGIMON!" Izzy shouted again.

"I got him!" Togemon charged straight for the bug digimon and caught him with her boxing gloved hand. With her other hand, she punched the sand and dug her arm deep into it to avoid getting blown away.

"ALERT! ISN'T THAT JUST SWEET? YOU-YOU-YOU SAVED YOUR FRIEND-END-END! TOO BAD, THOUGH! I ALWAYS PREFERRED A MOVING TARGET!" Etemon howled, readying another ball of dark energy in his hand. Togemon planted Tentomon under her body to shield him while Etemon readied to throw it. Greymon grunteD, "Enough! Nova Blast!"

Greymon breathed fire at Etemon, and the flames erupted along the side of the cables. The force was enough to shake Etemon and he lost his concentration on Togemon. Now he was focused solely on Greymon and the kids taking shelter under him, "ERROR-ERROR-ERROR! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU GUYS THROWING ME-ME-ME-DATAMON AROUND LIKE THIS! YOU KIDS ARE NEXT!"

Garurumon, Ikakumon, and Birdramon went straight for Etemon with one more attack. Garurumon's flames, Birdramon's feathers, and Ikakumon's missiles all struck their mark with precision. Etemon's skin came aflame and was singed, and he desperately tried to put the flames out. Birdramon was the only who could get close enough to attack Etemon head on, and Sora encouraged as she went on, "GO BIRDRAMON!"

"Meteor wing!" she shrieked, throwing more meteor like feathers from her wings. The flames on Etemon grew stronger and he worriedly tried to put out the flames. Birdramon landed beside him and used her talons to maul the monkey digimon. The kids cheered as Etemon howled, until his voice roared, "ENOUGH!"

The cables and wires latched onto Birdramon while she was looking away and started strangling her. Like from Sora's vision in the cave. Birdramon resisted, trying to break free of the cable's hold. With each move and shake, the cables loosened and Etemon was thrown into a panic, "ALERT! HEY! HOW ARE YOU DOING THAT? STOP-STOP-STOP IT!"

Sora's hand tightened around her digivice in a cold sweat. She glanced over at Tamer, still lying unconscious, then to Tentomon still being cradled under Togemon. Her friends were injured because of Etemon. She cared for Birdramon and loved her like family, and she would be damned if she let Etemon hurt anyone else she cared for. She forced herself to stand despite her injured leg and called out to her partner, "Birdramon! You can do it! I believe in you!"

A soft glow of red light crept out of Mimi's bag, burning its way out until an unseen force ripped her bag open. The crest they'd found from earlier rose out of her bag gently. Everyone gaped in awe as it moved freely through the air to Sora, positioning itself right in front of her. She was just as surprised by this as they were and asked, "What's the crest doing?"

"It appears to be moving of its own accord, perhaps reacting to you?" Izzy thought aloud, "Perhaps that's how the crests are supposed to work. But what's the stimulus? Was it something you said?"

"To me!?" Sora repeated in surprise while her digivice roared to life. Light burst forth from her digivice, and shone through her crest to take on its red hue. Then it continued in a solid bream straight for Birdramon, wrapping her in light like a veil. The white light of the digivice was normally blinding and powerful, but the red light was softer and gentler. As it shown around her, the light turned to flames and Etemon panicked, "WARNING! NEW THREAT DETECTED! WHAT'S HAPPENING!?"

"Birdramon! Digivolve to! Garudamon!"

The flames faded to reveal a larger red bird where Birdramon was moments ago. This large bird wore a red helmet and had a tuft of white feathers going down her front. The feathers at the end of her wings had a golden hue to them which added to her surprisingly beautiful appearance. A pair of arms came out just below her wings with talon like hands. She now easily towered over Etemon and the mass of cables writhing beneath him.

"She digivolved!" Mimi gaped, "Sora! You did it! You got Birdramon to digivolve!"

"That's an Ultimate?" Izzy wondered, "Prodigious!"

"Whoa! So cool!" TK muttered, to which Tokomon disapproved, "Hey! What about me?"

Even Etemon fell silent before the newly digivolved ultimate level in front of him. Sora looked at her partner and called out, "Go Garudamon! Don't let him hurt anyone else!"

Garudamon wound back one arm as it came aflame and dealt a hard blow to Etemon, "Crimson Claw!"

She struck with enough force to knock the tangled mess of cables and Etemon down into the sand. Everyone cheered as the winds died and the sand storm finally settled. Their cheers turned to groans as the mass of cables pushed off the ground and Etemon sounded more disgruntled, "NOW LISTEN HERE-HERE-HERE! I WILL NOT BE UPSTAGED-STAGED-STAGED DURING MY COME BACK! AND I WILL-"

"NOBODY CARES!" Garudamon said as backed away from him and her body lit up with fire. The fire exploded skywards from her frame and she thrust her arms forward, guiding the flames towards Etemon, "Wing Blade!"

The flames took the shape of an eagle and cut through the mesh of cables like a knife through butter. Etemon shrieked in horrible agony as the tangled web came apart around him. Then it convulsed and breathed inwards like a deflating balloon. Etemon howled and screamed, "NO! THIS AIN'T HOW I'M SUPPOSED TO GO! ERROR! ALERT! I'M SUPPOSED TO GO OUT ON STAGE WITH LEGIONS OF FANS! NOT LIKE THIS-THIS-THIS!"

He no longer reveled in his connection to the Dark Network. He pulled and struggled in vain to get free of the tangle, but the cables seemed to tighten even more on him. Etemon's form began to warp with the shrinking cables and he shrieked even louder when the winds picked up again, stronger than they were before. It was so strong that even Greymon started to be pulled with it. Each of their digimon tried to hold on to the sand but were helpless against its pull. Until Garudamon threw herself between them, catching them all with her wide form. She huddled down once she had them all, cradling them beneath her large form while she dug her claws deep into the ground and wrapped her wings around them to shrug off the wind. They couldn't see what was happening to Etemon anymore, they could only hear his agonized screams become distorted and hazy before they died down entirely.

When his screams finally stopped, the winds died with it and Garudamon finally stepped away to reveal…

Nothing.

No pyramid.

No Etemon.

None of his servant digimon.

Just miles of empty desert in every direction.

"Did we win?" TK asked curiously.

"It looks that way," Matt answered.

It'd be impossible to believe they'd been fighting for their lives just moments ago. But everyone looked okay. Tentomon awoke dazed and confused, so Izzy quickly filled him in on what he missed while he was unconscious. Everyone changed back to their rookie forms, except Garudamon who changed all the way back to her in-training form of Yokomon. The crest that powered her digivolution floated into Sora's hands and she pocketed it for safekeeping. Sora limped towards her partner excitedly, completely ignoring the pain with each step she took and Yokomon leapt into her arms, "Yokomon! You did it!"

"No! We did it Sora!" Yokomon said happily, "We beat Etemon!"

"Yeah! We did!" Sora agreed, hugging her partner and glad to see she was safe.

"THAT WAS SO COOL!" TK said excitedly, "Etemon was all 'take this' and Garudamon said 'shut up' and that attack with the fire and the bird!"

"TK, calm down! You're over stimulated," Matt told the little boy who continued talking excitedly at a hundred words a minute. Sora smiled at the little boy's enthusiasm, "Yeah, that was cool wasn't it?"

"If that's what Garudamon can do, I wonder what we'll be able to do when we digivolve to ultimate?" Tentomon mused excitedly. Izzy looked at his partner and concluded, "It stands to reason that you'll be just as powerful as her. And if we all get that far, then I don't think there'd be much of anything that could stand against us with raw strength."

"Yeah! It's no wonder Tamer got so excited the way he did!" Gomamon added.

"Tamer!" Sora said in realization. She spun around and limped towards Agumon, now sitting beside the unconscious Tamer and trying to wake him up. Joe was still beside him, trying to take off the boys clothes to see the spot where he'd been hit from the energy ball. She could hear him mumbling, "There's no blood, so that's a good sign that he's not bleeding out. But if there's any internal bleeding then there won't be much we can do."

"Will he be alright?" Sora looked on at the unconscious Tamer.

"No idea," Joe said, continuing to undo knots, buttons, velcro and zippers on the cloak. It seemed improbable that any clothing would have or need this many fasteners. Once he undid the last zipper, he pulled off Tamer's cloak and his black shirt to expose his torso, leaving only the necklace with his orange crest attached. There were scars all along his body, old and faded, some like slashes, others like stabs, and a few that looked like holes poked into his body. The largest scar was a large vertical slash across his chest. But there were no fresh wounds, and definitely no bruising. If they didn't know any better, they'd guess that nothing hit him at all. But he was still out cold.

"There's no swelling, so that's a good sign. I think…I don't know," Joe frowned.

"But he's still not waking up," Agumon said sadly, "He's always been able to take a hit. But that…that shouldn't have been able to do it. Either it was stronger than it looked, or there's something that we missed."

"He said his head hurt," Matt added, "He wasn't looking good either. Could that have had something to do with it?"

Joe reclined back and shrugged in defeat, "I don't know. I'm not a doctor. And even if I was, I don't have the supplies for anything beyond simple first aid. At this point, all any of us can do is wait. As for you, I think I should take a look at that ankle of yours. If you keep walking on it you'll hurt it more."

Joe had Sora sit back and placed his bag under her foot, "You should be fine if you keep off it for a while. I'm going to wrap it in some bandages to compress the swelling. It'd be better if we had some ice, but I'm not sure how we'd make it last in the desert. Thankfully, sprained ankles heal on their own."

"Joe, how did you learn so much about this stuff?" Gomamon asked his partner curiously, "I mean, you always look like you know what you're doing."

"My dad was a doctor," Joe explained while he wrapped Sora's leg in bandages, "So I picked up a few things from when he'd take me to his clinic."

"Well, that knowledge is proving necessary and reliable," Izzy nodded, "I'm not sure how far we'd have made it without your skills."

"Oh, stop," Joe went bright red. He finished bandaging Sora's leg and sat back on the sand also, "Man, I feel like we're going to dry out under this sun."

"We should head back to the tunnel," Matt said, "That way, we can get some shade and the bathroom will be nearby."

"Thank goodness for running water!" Yokomon commented.

"Can we eat something? I'm hungry," TK added.

"Me too!" Palmon waved her hand. Mimi joined in, "And me!"

"Okay, I'll whip something up when we get there," Matt nodded.

"After that, we can think about what to do next," Sora added. Gabumon digivolved back to Garurumon to carry both Sora and Tamer back to the tunnel. Once they settled in, Izzy went back to continue analyzing each hieroglyph on the wall, despite Tentomon urging him to socialize more. Gabumon worked with Matt to get a fire going, then on helping them cook some of the supplies Piximon provided for them. TK played with Tokomon some more. Sora sat back against the wall to keep off her foot while Yokomon nestled on her lap to rest, tired from the fight earlier. Mimi and Palmon rummaged through the Tamer's cloak to take back the crests but couldn't find them in any of its numerous pockets. Eventually, they gave up because it seemed like there was always another pocket on the coat that they hadn't noticed before. Agumon would've protested, but he was too busy worrying over Tamer still lying unconscious. Joe continued tending to the boy, wetting some cloths in the bathroom and placing them on his head, "I don't know if it was just the sun, but he's spiked a fever."

"Should I get him some water?" Gomamon asked.

"He's out cold, he's not going to be drinking it," Agumon pointed out. Gomamon stared at the unconscious boy's half naked body and asked, "Shouldn't we at least put his clothes back on?"

"No, we want to bring his temperature back down," Joe explained, "And these clothes are really thick. I'm surprised he didn't pass out while he was wearing them. No, it'd be better to leave those off for now."

"Y'know I see why he wears this all the time, the fabric feels comfortable," Mimi said breaking Sora out of her thoughts. Mimi moved the cloth between her fingers and admired the feel of the dingy cloak. Palmon added, "If it only it wasn't so old and worn out."

"I wonder if it comes in other colors? I'd like a pink one or maybe even one in bright green so that you and I can match," Mimi agreed.

"What are you two doing?" Agumon asked disapprovingly.

"Just admiring his cloak," Mimi intentionally left out searching for the crests and instead began neatly folding to use as a pillow. Joe raised his head and Mimi slid it under him, taking care to position his head so that it rested comfortably. The sweet aroma of roasting meat soon filled the air and Matt announced, "Okay guys! Barbecue's ready!"

He produced skewers of meat glazed in a sweet sauce while Gabumon held out a basket of bread warmed by the fire. They gathered around to eat, except for Izzy who continued studying the glyphs, Sora who couldn't move, Yokomon who was sleeping, and Agumon who preferred to stay by Tamer. Palmon offered her some skewers and loaves for when Yokomon woke up. Sora graciously took them and dug in, enjoying the texture of Matt's cooking. Palmon then went to offer a skewer apologetically to Agumon, "I'm sorry we were messing with his cloak earlier. Here, have something to eat."

"I'm not hungry," Agumon declined with a wave, "But thank you."

Tamer groaned where he lay and Agumon's attention shot at him. He watched his partner anxiously, relaxing only when he stayed motionless. Agumon sighed and swiped the cloth off his forehead, "I'm going to go wet the towel a little. Keep an eye on him for me?"

"Okay," Palmon nodded. Agumon rushed to the bathroom while the others ate. Palmon inched closer to Tamer's side and watched him carefully for Agumon. Tamer groaned again and began mumbling. Palmon leaned in closer to hear earning Sora's curiosity, "What's he saying?"

"He's saying…I'm sorry," Palmon repeated, "Please…I'm sorry…he just keeps repeating it…wait…"

She listened more intently as Tamer spoke and repeated his words, "I tried…all…my fault."

Tamer fell silent and Palmon inched away just as Agumon returned to replace the damp cloth. They didn't mention that he'd mumbled in his sleep. Sora glanced over in Tamer's direction, worried for her friend's health. While they ate, Matt finally asked the question they all had on their minds, "So what do we do now? We came out here to save someone and it turned out they were as bad as Etemon."

"I think we should head back to Piximon's place," Joe suggested, "He might have a better idea on how to treat Tamer. I've done all I can."

"I don't think he's okay enough to move," Gabumon protested. Matt shrugged, "He never seemed to care if we were."

"You guys can head back if you want but I'm not leaving him here," Agumon protested, "I'll stay by myself if I have to."

"I'm not saying we're abandoning him," Matt argued, "Just that we might have to move him."

Agumon seemed okay with this idea, nodding his understanding. Tokomon suggested, "We could wait for him to get better. But who knows how long that'll take."

"Mommy always gave me some orange juice and soup when I got sick," TK suggested helpfully, "We could try that."

"We don't have orange juice or soup," Gomamon frowned, "And I don't think we have time to wait. He doesn't look like he's getting better."

Their attention turned to the unconscious boy, who appeared to be sweating more profusely in his sleep. It was hard to tell if he was actually improving or getting worse. They had to make a decision soon, or it could've been the end for the one person who might know a way back.

"Whoa! Prodigious! It's a map!" Izzy exclaimed energetically, "A map of…our world."

The silence that followed was deafening. Everyone turned their attention to Izzy to see him standing underneath another hologram - this time displaying a three dimensional image of their world. Everyone gathered around it to see the globe while Izzy continued talking, "There don't appear to be any roadways or city markers. Just continents and oceans. What are these lines though? If I could trace…wait a minute, that's where Tokyo should be!"

Izzy pointed to the spot on the globe where their home city would've been. What stood out most were the various lines spreading outward from that one point and joining with other lines in other parts of the map.

"So that's the world you guys come from?" Gabumon looked up at the globe.

"Yeah, that place there is Tokyo. It's where we live," Matt told his partner, "And that big island is called Japan. Down there is the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea. Over there is the continent of Asia. Across the ocean is North America. That's Australia even further south."

"Wow, you're world must be big to have all those continents," Palmon commented.

"It's really big! The city we live in is so big it can take you all day to walk from one to the other side!" TK said, awing the digimon present. Izzy continued examining the map, "These lines seem to connect from one major city to another, I think this might just be a map of a telecommunication network. This means that we're looking at a map of every phone line, internet connection, radio broadcast in our world."

"Whoa!" Mimi took it all in surprise, "What does that any of it mean? And how did you do that?"

"Just making educated guesses based on observations. There's a reason I take notes of everything on my laptop," Izzy explained, raising his laptop proudly, "Like why this is called the Digital World and why there's an incomprehensible language in all these buildings. Based on how Tamer and Datamon were able to manipulate the buildings by disrupting the patterns on the walls, I concluded that these incomprehensible hieroglyphs are actually lines of code - the kind you find in a computer program. Change the code, change the program. To test the theory, I made a few changes to this character here like the one Tamer did to make a map of the tunnel. The end result was this image of our world. From this, I believe that we've found ourselves standing inside a giant computer!"

"So what? Did we just crawl in through the floppy drive?" Joe asked, "Because there's no way we could just fit into a computer. Wait, are people watching us right now? HEY! HEY! HELP US GET OUT OF HERE! Oh no! What if this is a video game and we only have one life!?"

"I don't think that's how it works, Joe," Gomamon assured him, "I think I'd have noticed if someone was watching us by now."

Izzy added, "Here's the thing. As soon as I did this, an IP address appeared on my browser. It's one for a website I've been to dozens of times. But when I tried to load the webpage, this happened."

He turned his screen to face them and showed them another map, this one didn't look anything like their world but it still had the same sets of lines connecting to each other from across vast distances. Izzy went on, "It took me a while, but I was able to line up this map with the one Tamer sent us when we were on File Island. If my guess is correct, this is a map of the Digital World. So…"

Izzy took a moment to type into his keyboard, and a second globe appeared beside the one of their world. The new globe was a perfect replica of Izzy's map of the Digital World. With a few more button presses, he was able to align the two worlds perfectly so that they overlapped and obscured any known landmasses. The only part that remained clear were the lines representing the Real World's telecommunications network, which lined up perfectly with the lines in the Digital World. With an excited grin, Izzy asked, "Do you guys realize what this means!?"

"The worlds are connected," Mimi said, surprising everyone by her sudden burst of intelligence. When she saw the looks they were giving her, she replied, "I'm a lot more than a pretty face, guys."

Izzy concurred with a nod, "Mimi's right. Guys, the Digital World and our world are mirrors of each other in the context of the telecommunications network - which I think is more than a coincidence. Our worlds are connected. It's entirely possible that the Digital World has existed along side ours in a mirror shadow world within the internet since we first created computer networks. More than that, with how fast computers are, the concept of time in this world could also be relative. A few days here could be seconds back in ours."

"So if I'm data in a computer, does that mean I don't have to take a bath anymore?" TK asked sheepishly.

"Yes, you do," Tokomon and Matt said together, to the boy's disappointment.

"If this is true, do you think you could figure a way for us to get back to our world?" Matt asked anxiously, but crossing his arms to appear relaxed. Izzy nodded, "I'll have to keep working but I'll do what I can."

"How soon do you think you can do it?" Sora asked. Izzy shrugged, "It could be a while. Days, weeks maybe."

"We don't have that long," Sora said. Izzy followed her eyes and saw she was looking at the Tamer. He nodded his understanding, "If I can't find anything, then we'll leave tomorrow. We can come back after he's better."

"It sounds like a plan," Palmon nodded. They returned to eating after Izzy's discovery, quietly hoping he'd find something before they left tomorrow. There was a mix of excitement and worry in the air. They chatted excitedly at the possibility of being able to return to their home world, and the first thing they'd do when they got back. But the sounds of the Tamer's groans as he lay left them uneasy. Agumon stayed with him and Joe occasionally went to check on him, but had no idea if he was getting better. They didn't sleep well that night. They were tired from the day's excursion, but too anxious to sleep.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** And done! Want more? Come back next week on Friday, February 26th! If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism and speculation. There'll usually be a reply in a day or two. Unless you leave a guest review. Then the reply will come through the next author's notes. See you guys at Chapter 17!


	17. Decorative Cruise

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hello, good evening to all you readers! Another big thank you to everyone who read, left a review, favorited, and followed the story. And again, another big thanks to Ace Spiritwell for making the cover art for this fan fic. Seriously, go read their stories on their profile and, hey, check out their deviant art. It's amazing! I don't have much else to say here so let's get started on Chapter 17!

 **Edit:** Fixed a formatting issue. All good now!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 17: Decorative Cruise**

A horn blared aloud, startling everyone awake. They peaked out the tunnel exit and saw a large cruise ship parked out in the middle of the sand that wasn't there yesterday. Everyone rubbed their eyes and shook their head to confirm they weren't still dreaming. Yet there it was, a large ship in the middle of the desert with no water to be seen for miles.

"How!?" Matt grumbled. Izzy looked up from his computer to see what the fuss was. He'd worked through most of the night and only took brief power naps - unable to properly sleep because he was too excited by the information before him. One glance at the ship and he began postulating, "It could just be a mirage. We've been out in the sun for a few days, so it'd be natural if we were to start seeing things."

"Don't forget. In the Digital World, trying to use common sense just makes your head hurt," Agumon reminded him, "It probably glides along the sand, or maybe even floats in the air like a balloon."

"I wonder if they'll let us on without tickets," Mimi pondered, "Just think about all the food, the hot baths, the swimming pool, the-"

"Okay, we get it," Gomamon interrupted her, agitated from being suddenly awoken.

"I think Mimi has the right idea though, they might have medicine or even a doctor on board," Joe agreed with her, "It definitely wouldn't hurt to ask. But…on second thought, we don't know what kinds of digimon are there. They could be good guys, or they could be like Etemon."

"It wouldn't hurt to go ask," Sora said, pushing herself up and trying to walk. She cradled Yokomon in her arms and the little creature protested, "Sora! You shouldn't walk yet. Your leg's still injured."

"I'm fi-" she spoke too soon and stumbled, only for Matt to catch her, "Hey, take it easy. You'll hurt yourself."

"Thanks Matt," Sora nodded. Yokomon hopped onto the ground so Sora could put her arm over him and he helped her walk to the entrance. Agumon and Joe quickly redressed Tamer and put his hood back over him. If the digimon on the boat were on Etemon's side, then the last thing they wanted was for him to be seen.

They approached the boat slowly. Palmon, Gabumon, Gomamon and Tentomon led the way in case anything went wrong and they needed to digivolve. Once there, a little green blob with two eyes poking out of eyes stalks popped over the railing. It dressed in a white sailor's uniform and shouted, "Ahoy! Who are you guys and what do you want!?"

"Have we seen that digimon before?" Matt asked.

"That's Numemon," Tentomon informed them, "We met some at Koromon Village. They prefer dark and dank places. I wonder what he's doing out on a boat in the desert."

"We need help! We need a doctor or some medicine!" Joe explained to the bored digimon, who continued eyeing him suspiciously. When he didn't respond to Joe, Mimi brushed past him and said, "This requires a woman's touch! Excuse me, big boy! You're ship looks so inviting! Won't you please help us out?"

The Numemon continued staring at them, his gaze reflecting deep consideration. Then he nodded, "Alright! All aboard! I'd be happy to give the cute one a tour!"

Mimi blushed and Joe patted her back, "Good work, Mimi."

"Not her, the cute one!" Numemon pointed in Izzy's direction. Izzy pointed at himself and Numemon nodded. Their computer whiz panicked, "What! Me? I think you've made a mistake!"

"No I haven't! You're the cutest one there!" the Numemon said, "Now come on up here and take a ride on my boat!"

"I really hope he means the cruise ship," Tentomon moaned. The Numemon pulled a lever to lower a boarding platform for the kids. They waited for Izzy to go but he refused to move, not that anyone could blame him. TK was the only one who had no idea what they were talking about and looked to his brother for an explanation, "I don't get it. What's going on?"

Matt covered his little brother's ears and said, "Welp, you heard him Izzy. Go have fun! Be sure to be nice to the guy!"

"You're joking! Guys! Tell me you're joking!" Izzy shook. Mimi and Palmon pushed Izzy up the platform, followed by the others. The Numemon wrapped an arm around Izzy as soon as they were on deck and offered what it thought must have been a teasing smile, "Well hey there! Welcome aboard the love boat! Why don't I show you to the dining hall?"

"Uh, no thanks, I'm not hungry!" Izzy said quickly, just as his stomach growled. Numemon waved a slimy finger, "Oh! Don't be shy! Everything will be on the house. You guys make yourselves at home! Your friend and I have to get better acquainted."

Numemon went on to drag Izzy away despite his protests. The others swapped amused glances and snickers. Once again, TK was the only one out of the loop but Mimi was in stunned disbelief though, "I don't think I was ready for that. So this is what rejection feels like."

"Mimi, are you jealous?" Gabumon joked, although Mimi didn't react. For a moment, he thought he might have struck a nerve and tried to apologize. Then she said, "Wait, did he say Dining Hall?"

"Yes he did!" Palmon nodded, "What are we waiting for! Let's go!"

The pair of them followed after Izzy and the Numemon while TK tagged along, "I hope they have scrambled eggs!"

"Hey TK! Don't forget to give me some!" Tokomon said. Tentomon hastily followed them, "Wait for me! I want to know what's happening to Izzy!"

"We should go see if there's an infirmary or something around here," Sora said to Matt. They set out exploring the entire inner workings of the ship, going from cabin to cabin in search of a doctor or someone who could help. Over the course of their search, they found the dining hall where a flustered Izzy sat in the middle of a group of Numemon playfully complimenting him and offering food from the kitchen. Off to a side table were Mimi, Tentomon, Palmon, TK, and Tokomon eating some breakfast. Izzy occasionally stole glances at them in search of help but they were too engrossed in their meal to notice.

They moved on, finding the engine room, a room filled with radios, the bridge of the ship, and even a crews quarters. Eventually, they found an infirmary tucked away in a corner of the ship and rested Tamer on one of the beds. Matt helped Sora into one of the chairs. Joe looked through the cabinets and drawers for medical supplies and found it well stocked, "You think they'll mind if I take some of this? There's a lot of medicine and supplies here! Hey pain killers!"

Joe took out a brown glass bottle full of pills and turned it over in his hands, "I think one should be enough. Here."

He opened the bottle and emptied one of the pills into her hand. Sora hated pills and looked at it like someone dropped a fart into her hand, "Do you have something I can drink instead?"

"I can't find any liquid medicine," Joe said as he continued to open more drawers. He went over to a freezer and found several ice packs, "Hey! Perfect! This'll help with the swelling."

He took some of the bandages and wrapped the ice pack tight to Sora's ankle. He wrapped another in a towel and placed it on Tamer's head, "And that should do something about his fever."

"Thanks Joe," Agumon said, looking at his still unconscious partner. They'd left the hood on him in case any Numemon walked in at that moment. They still weren't sure they could trust the green slugs working around the ship. Matt and Gabumon headed out, "I think you guys have got this so we're going to get some food."

"Yeah, right. Bring us something back!" Gomamon shouted, waddling around Tamer's bed. Matt gave a thumbs-up before closing the door behind him. Gomamon leaned up onto the bed, "Y'know, as much I like him being quiet, will he get better?"

"I keep saying I don't know," Joe said, taking out a thermometer, stethoscope, and some other supplies, "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to try to help."

Joe went to work doing a proper examination of the boy while everyone patiently watched, hoping Joe would come up with some kind of answer.

* * *

Izzy's eyes darted back and forth between the Numemon who were all vying for his attention. The boy was completely overwhelmed by the sudden and unwanted flood of amorous Numemon attempting to flirt with him. His mind raced with ideas on how to react and respond to every single one but all he could do was sit there quietly with a great big blush on his face. Of course, this just led the Numemon into thinking he was the shy and quiet type. He craned his head to get a look at the others and get their attention for help, but they were so caught up in eating that they didn't seem to notice anything was wrong.

"Aw! Don't be shy! We only want to get to know you better!" one of the Numemon said, the smell of his breath convincing Izzy to lean away. He was suffocating from having so many digimon crowd around him, as well as the horrid smell coming off their bodies. He smiled politely and nodded as one offered a glass of soda that was covered in its slime. He took it by a clean part of the glass and took a sip from the side it didn't touch, mostly to be polite. Somehow, the smell had gotten into the soda and he could only manage a drop of it to go down.

"So! What's a cutie like you doing out here?" one of the Numemon asked.

"We were out getting help for our friend," Izzy stammered, "Then we found you guys."

"So caring," another Numemon commented, "Don't worry about your friend! We'll take good care of them."

"I'd like to go check in on him if that's alright," Izzy said. He tried to rise off his chair but the Numemon pulled him back into it, "Oh! He'll be fine! Don't you want something to eat to go with your drink? You've barely touched it!"

"I'm…uh, not really hungry," Izzy said, forcing himself to have another drink of the soda. If just being around a drink was enough to make it smell bad, he didn't want to know what these Numemon would do to food. He shifted his gaze again and could make out TK and Tokomon resting their heads on the table, sleepy from eating the food. However, he noticed Mimi and Palmon start nodding off mid bite also. Even Tentomon appeared to have curled up in his chair to sleep. Something was wrong; Izzy knew it. He opened his mouth to say something, then looked at his drink in stunned realization. The Numemon prepared the food they'd eaten. Who was to say they didn't put something in it. Izzy tried to stand up again but his legs felt like jelly and he was forced to sit down again. A little of soda was all it took to get him like this. The Numemon smiled again, "Don't worry. We'll take good care of you and your friends."

Izzy tried to say something but the world faded to darkness before anything could get out. He felt like he was falling forward, deep into the black void before him.

* * *

As soon as they were certain Izzy was passed out, the Numemon brought out the ropes to tie him down. They secured the other digimon and children too, tightening the ropes to make sure they didn't wake up. Their captives were dragged down into one of the lower decks and placed in iron bar cages to keep them locked up. With these six, that left the other eight to deal with. The one in the hood was unconscious and the girl was injured, so they didn't have to worry about either of them. The others still presented a clear danger and had to be dealt with accordingly. The Numemon retreated back to their duties, leaving only a few to stand guard while another went to report to their captain.

The Numemon crawled to a speaking tube and hurriedly reported, "Captain! Three digidestined and their digimon have been captured!"

"Good work, and the others?" the captain's voice echoed down the chamber.

"Two of the kids are out of commission, the other two are with them, and so are their digimon," Numemon answered. He heard a pleased grunt and knew the captain was happy. The captain, "Good, you guys have earned your extra helping of dried bread and water. Keep playing things cool and make sure they don't find out what's going on. If we get the others by the end of the day, you can help yourselves to the bottles in the cellar too!"

"Aye aye captain!" the Numemon replied.

On the bridge of the ship, the captain moved with glee away from the speaking tube and towards a computer. He pushed a few buttons and screen came to life, but the image it produced was distorted by static. Even so, he knew who he was talking to, "My Lord. We have the digidestined on board and six are in custody. Do you want us to dispose of them?"

The voice that answered was heavily distorted by static but the message it gave was clear, "Kill them. No prisoners."

"As you wish my lord," the captain nodded. He turned off the computer and stretched. He didn't have to kill them right away; there was no urgency in dealing with them. Additionally, he needed to get some new decorations for the main deck as the old ones were starting to crumble and fade with age. Perhaps these digidestined would make for finer pieces, since they were as good as dead anyway. The captain smiled to himself and exited the bridge. It was long past time to get some new decorations for the main deck.

* * *

Matt and Gabumon wandered the length of the ship in search of the dining hall. Although they promised to bring back something for the others, they realized that they had no idea where they were or how to get back there. They did want to ask the crew but they hadn't met a single Numemon since they started their search for the dining hall. After wandering around aimlessly, Gabumon finally said what they were both thinking, "We're lost."

"How did we get lost on a ship?" Matt asked, looking back up and down the halls, "And where's the crew? It's not like they had anywhere to be."

"I don't know, but this is making me nervous. Maybe we should head back," Gabumon suggested, "It'd probably be safer with the others."

"Yeah, this whole empty ship thing is just creepy. Hey, maybe this is a ghost ship!" Matt joked. His partner didn't appreciate the humor and walked away quietly, "I'm not joking. There's something off about a ship where the crew isn't around."

"Honestly, they're probably all in the dining hall talking to Izzy," Matt said more seriously. He could not understand what the slug digimon saw in the boy. Then again, who was he to judge their preferences? Maybe Izzy was just good looking and Matt wasn't able to see it. He went back and forth on this idea for a while, quietly following Gabumon while he got lost in his own thoughts. He was so distracted that he bumped right into something as he rounded the corner, "Hey sorry."

A quick glance of what he'd walked into showed him a life-sized statue of Gabumon standing in a walking position. The attention to detail was exact and precise, down to every last fiber of Gabumon's fur coat. Matt couldn't help but marvel at it, "No way. Hey Gabumon! Check out this statue! It's so life like!"

When he got no response, Matt looked up saw a pair of creeping red eyes staring back at him, "Petrifier!"

Matt froze where he stood, unable to move.

* * *

Two hours had passed since Joe began examining Tamer and he wasn't able to draw any reasonable conclusions. The thermometers kept saying his temperature was running radically between 25 degrees and 147 degrees Fahrenheit. His heart raced so fast that he couldn't distinguish any of the beats and was convinced that it was engine. When he tried to get a pulse, he couldn't find one - so either his pulse was incredibly weak or his veins weren't in the same spot. If it was the former, then why was his heart beating so fast? If it was the latter, then what was he?

In the end, Joe couldn't come up with any conclusions to the boy's condition. Nothing about it made any sense, so there was no way to tell if his condition was normal or not. Joe threw his hands up and sat back in one of the chairs, "I don't know. This kid's bonkers."

"So not only does he act crazy, he actually is one hundred percent crazy!" Gomamon said with a joking smile. Agumon slapped the little seal creature, "Knock it off."

"What was that for?" Gomamon demanded. Agumon crossed his arms and stared, "If you're asking, then you're not paying attention."

"Stop fighting you two," Yokomon hopped between them, "I'm too hungry to deal with this. Where are Matt and Gabumon? They've been gone for a while."

"They should've been back by now," Sora stood up off the chair. The ice brought the swelling in her ankle down, so moving wasn't painful but she didn't think she could run just yet. She moved over to a chair by Tamer's bed and said, "Yokomon, Agumon and I can stay here and keep an eye on him. You and Gomamon can go find out what's keeping Matt."

"Yeah, I'm thinking no," Joe reclined in his chair, "I'm sitting right here and waiting."

"Come on Joe! We're all hungry," Gomamon whined loudly. Joe wrinkled his forehead and straightened himself out, "Is no one else bothered by the fact that we didn't encounter a single crew member in the entire ship?"

"Well yeah, they were all with Izzy in the dining hall," Gomamon answered, "He looked like he was in over his head. Then again, I think the Numemon were in over theirs."

"No, Joe's right, there's something not right here. Where was the captain and why didn't he tell the Numemon to get back to work?" Agumon pointed out, turning to his still unconscious partner, "More importantly, where's the doctor on this ship?"

"Not just that, but this feels like something out of a horror movie," Joe added, "Come on, we're all split up, the ship is more or less abandoned, two of us went off and never came back. Call me crazy, but I'm not going to go be the next one that runs into the monster."

"Oh relax, Joe. Do you really expect to find a monster on the other side of this door when we open it," Gomamon approached the door out into the hall and opened it, exposing the empty hallway outside, "See, there's absolutely nothing to be afraid of."

"Sora, please tell me you agree with me on this. Something's off," Joe looked at her pleadingly. She nodded her agreement, "Yeah, this is starting to remind me of the Bakemon a little. Or we're being completely paranoid. I say we just sit and wait."

"Thank you," Joe nodded. Gomamon sighed and went out the door, "You guys can wait if you want but-"

"Why hello," a gruff elder voice said. Gomamon stepped away from the door to let a large white chicken dressed like a captain enter the infirmary. Three Numemon followed the chicken in and pointed, "Here they are sir! Like we told you!"

The chicken nodded, "Greetings fellow sailors! I am Cockatrimon, captain of this fine vessel! I heard from my crew that two of you needed help!"

"That'd be us!" Sora raised her hand, "I just sprained my ankle so I'm fine. But our friend here has been out cold for a while."

"I see, can you tell us what happened?" the chicken digimon moved over to the Tamer's side. Agumon positioned himself on the same side of the bed in case anything happened, while Gomamon and Yokomon quietly circled the Numemon. It was an odd case of posturing, everyone moved around the other waiting for someone to make the first move. Meanwhile, Sora and Joe looked at each other cautiously - trying to think of an answer that would satisfy Cockatrimon without alerting him. They still didn't know if he was a good digimon or one like Etemon and Devimon.

"He was hit in the chest," Agumon said, "By a dark energy ball."

"A dark energy ball? Where did it come from?" Cockatrimon asked.

"No idea. We got caught in a sandstorm, and one whizzed out of nowhere. Got him square in the chest," Agumon explained readily. Every word was true, but it was just vague enough to avoid tying it back to a fight with Etemon. Cockatrimon nodded, "I see, I see. We'll get him fixed up right away. Numemon, please take care of the patient."

"Aye aye sir!" the Numemon crowded around Tamer, taking medical supplies out of cabinets and drawers. One of them noticed the sudden lack of supplies, "Hey! Some of our stuff is gone!"

"Sorry, that was me," Joe opened his bag, "I hope you don't mind. We're low on medical supplies."

"Not at all. Help yourselves," Cockatrimon replied, "We were actually about to have brunch. I would be honored if you'd join me at the captain's table."

Sora and Joe swapped skeptical glances. Sora replied, "We're fine actually. But I'm sure our friends in the dining hall would like to join you! Matt and Gabumon were on their way there now!"

"Ah yes, your friends wanted us to come find you," Cockatrimon said, "They would've come themselves, but that boy and his digimon got lost on their way. We found them wandering down in the lower levels, and directed them to the dining hall. They would've come themselves but they didn't want to get lost again."

"Oh, well that's good to hear," Gomamon nodded, "Thanks for helping them out."

"So I take it you'll be joining us then?" Cockatrimon tried again. They weren't sure if he was being polite or just damn persistent. Either way, they were weary about going with him. Agumon especially seemed off put by the Numemon examining Tamer, slapping their hands away if they tried to remove his hood. Joe remained firm in his decision to not go anywhere, and Agumon didn't look like he was going to leave the Tamer. Sora answered, "No, but thank you for the invitation. I think we'll just stay here and rest. Joe can look after us."

The captain nodded, "I see. That's fine if you won't join us. I did want to hold off on the surprise, but I suppose it'll have to do here. PETRIFIER!"

Joe looked up just in time to hear the captain say this and locked eyes with the large bird. In that brief moment, Joe froze in place and his body turned gray and coarse. It only took an instant, but he'd become a stone statue of himself. Gomamon charged straight for Cockatrimon, "JOE! WHAT'D YOU DO TO HIM!"

Cockatrimon shifted his gaze onto Gomamon and turned him to stone like his partner. Agumon knocked the Numemon away and breathed fire on to Cockatrimon, "Pepper Breath!"

Cockatrimon caught the fireball with his wing and smothered it, "Did you really think that would work? You're stupider than I gave you credit for."

The Numemon tackled Agumon, pinning him to the floor. Yokomon tried to rush in and got kicked aside by the larger digimon for her effort. Sora threw herself in front of her partner with her arms spread out, "Don't lay a finger on Yokomon!"

"It's not a finger, it's a wing!" Cockatrimon snapped, swatting her aside with it. Agumon finally overpowered the Numemon and threw himself at Cockatrimon, catching the chicken unaware, "Sora! Yokomon! Get out! I'll hold him off!"

"But-"

"GO!" Agumon shouted, climbing up Cockatrimon to cover his eyes, "Don't look in his eyes or you'll turn to stone like the others!"

Sora scooped up Yokomon and moved as fast as she could for the door. She didn't make it far out into the hallway before running into more Numemon. Yokomon leapt out of her arms to try and fight them off but was outnumbered and outmatched. Sora screamed out to her partner, "Yokomon!"

Her digivice hummed to life and a blast of light wrapped around Yokomon, "Yokomon! Digivolve to! Biyomon!"

"Spiral Twister!" Biyomon screamed, blowing several Numemon away with a gust of wind. But the Numemon were numerous and continued rushing the bird digimon. Soon, both of them were pinned to the ground and tied up in ropes.

Cockatrimon shook and grabbed at Agumon, only to find his wings weren't long enough to reach his head, so he settled on bashing the side of his head against the wall - catching Agumon in the middle. Agumon yelped with each hit and his grip weakened. Finally, Cockatrimon shook so violently that he flung the little dinosaur off and he hit the floor. The Numemon brought back in the captured Sora and Biyomon, "We got them captain!"

Cockatrimon placed a claw on Agumon to keep him from getting up, "Good! Take the prisoners out to the swimming pool on the main deck."

"What about this one?" the Numemon pointed at the still unconscious Tamer, "Should we tie him up?"

"He's out cold, he won't be getting up any time soon. Take him though," Cockatrimon commanded. The Numemon swarmed Tamer and dragged him along the ground by his arms. After restraining Agumon, they forced the three out into the main deck of the ship. A few others carried the petrified Joe and Gomamon with them as they went.

They emerged out into the sunlit deck built around a massive pool, complete with chairs, tables, umbrellas, and decorative statues. On the far side was a tropical style bar made of bamboo with a blinking neon sign where a Numemon was happily mixing drinks for the others Numemon. Many of the statues were old, faded, and crumbling - some of various digimon in various poses of shock while others were of hooded figures. The expression on less faded statues were looks of anger, terror, and surprise. The ones that stood out were the statues that looked like Izzy, Tentomon, Matt, Gabumon, Mimi, Palmon, TK, and Tokomon. The Numemon placed Joe and Gomamon's statues along side these. Sora, Biyomon, and Agumon realized these statues were their friends turned to stone and gasped, "What did you do?"

"The deck needed some new decorations," Cockatrimon answered, "These older ones were starting to fall apart."

The Cockatrimon approached the statue of a hooded figure wielding a sword. He kicked it over the edge, where it fell and disappeared. All that could be heard was the sound of shattering stone. That statue was some poor unfortunate victim like their friends. Agumon especially seemed distraught, "NO!"

"Eh! He's in a better place. Some of these statues are so old that bringing them back would just kill whoever it was anyway. I'm doing these guys a favor," Cockatrimon remarked as he kicked another statue off the main deck. The Numemon smiled gleefully as they lifted another large statue resembling a Monzaemon and moved to throw it over board. Agumon pleaded with them to stop but they didn't listen. They threw it over it one go, "Heave ho!"

"NOO!" Agumon shouted more loudly, "STOP IT!"

"So is that what's going to happen to us?" Sora asked. Cockatrimon shrugged, "Eh. It depends on how long you guys last. These statues here are somewhere around a couple of hundred years I think? You'll be fine. Well, you won't be. But that's not my problem now is it?"

"Why are you doing this!? What did we do to you?" Biyomon demanded.

"Just following orders, really," Cockatrimon nodded, "Well, not really. I was told to kill you guys, but I needed new statues anyway. These old ones were falling apart."

"Orders!? Is that it! Orders?" Agumon snapped, "What if you were ordered to kill yourself? Would you?"

"With my boss, probably. I'd be dead either way," Cockatrimon frowned, "If you don't want to be a statue, I could always use a pair of hands to work the deck as waitresses. I think you two would do very well."

"No way, hands off creep!" Sora inched away. Biyomon moved in front of her, "Yeah! You'll have to go through me to get to her!"

"Challenge accepted!" Cockatrimon stopped knocking over statues to face them. Agumon was too distracted yelling at the Numemon to do anything. Cockatrimon's expression was serious but also playful. He knew what he was going to do, and he looked ready to have fun doing it. Of course he stopped at the sound of breaking glass. They looked at the bar to see Tamer digging behind the counter while the Numemon bartender perplexedly backed away. Relief washed over Sora when she saw he was alive, followed by fear for his safety, and annoyance that he didn't seem to care that they were in trouble. Cockatrimon especially looked annoyed and barked, "What the? He's awake! Someone tie him up!"

"Don't you think it's rude to tie up your guests like that? It's not comfortable and discourages them from booking another cruise," Tamer said back, peaking back over the counter with a mug of hot water. He dipped a tea bag into it and began searching the drawers, "Why don't you have any sugar here? How can I enjoy a nice cup of oolong tea if there's no sugar?"

"Why would a bar have sugar!?" one of the Numemon asked.

"I don't know, why is there a boat in the middle of the desert? Get some perspective," Tamer replied. When he couldn't find sugar in the bar, he started going from table to table in search of some, "Let's see. Salt. Pepper. Salt. Pepper. Ketchup. Wasabi? Who wants wasabi? Salt. Pepper. Salt. Pepper. Mustard. Soy sauce. Salt. Pepper. Sea Salt. Pepper. Salt. Pepper."

As he moved from table to table, he tossed the shakers and bottles aside disapprovingly if it wasn't the sugar he wanted. All the while, Cockatrimon stared in utter disbelief as the Numemon back away from him. Agumon didn't seem surprised and quietly laughed to himself, catching Sora and Biyomon attention.

"What's so funny? We're in trouble and he's making tea!" Biyomon asked. Agumon looked her way and whispered, "Just watch."

Tamer continued about the deck, tossing aside more pepper and saltshakers, "Seriously? What kind of cruise doesn't have sugar? It's just…incompetent. No wonder you don't get many guests. You tie them up and then you don't give them sugar for their tea."

"Tamer! Will you stop messing around! We're in serious trouble here!" Sora shouted at him. Cockatrimon's jaw fell when he heard the name, "Wait! You mean…you're-"

Tamer lowered his hood to reveal his fiery brown hair and an annoyed expression on his face, "Yup. And I'm very upset. You call this service? What am I going to do with salt? I can't put this in tea! It's…wait. Lemon juice! Perfect!"

Tamer picked up a bottle of yellow liquid and placed a few drops in the mug. He took a quick sip and sighed, "Refreshing. See? That's all I needed. A good cup of tea to wake me up! Although it could use some sugar. Then again, your crew does look like they'd eat all of it so I guess that's not your fault."

"I won't let you make fun of my crew or my ship!" Cockatrimon growled, "Seize him!"

The Numemon kept their distance and refused to budge. Cockatrimon barked again, "GET HIM!"

"Yeah, that's not going to happen," Tamer said, approaching Cockatrimon while observing his legs. He still had the lemon juice in his other hand and put a few more drops in the tea, "See. Osmosis is a system where water moves from a higher concentration to a lower concentration. So if you disrupt the balance, water moves to achieve equilibrium. Overdoing it can have bad side effects though."

"What does that have to do with anything!?" Cockatrimon snapped. Tamer pointed at the floor, "Your crew is made of slugs and I've been throwing salt everywhere."

Sora's annoyance quickly turned to concern. This was exactly how he acted at the pyramid; he played stupid up until the last moment. Then he revealed he'd been lowering his opponent's guard to finish them off. She realized the Numemon were not avoiding Tamer but the salt he'd been throwing all over the floor. All the saltshakers left a fine layer on the floor, paralyzing the Numemon out of the fear they'd step into it and shrivel up. The Tamer stopped just short of Cockatrimon and took another sip of tea, "Also, you should really stop letting me talk. It distracts you from what I'm doing."

"Wha-"

"Your main attack is with your eyes. I haven't made eye contact since I first woke up _and_ I'm holding a bottle of lemon juice," he smiled. He squirted the bottle into Cockatrimon's face and the chicken squealed in terror. Blinded, the digimon tried to wipe its eyes but only managed to spread the juice around which made it sting worse. Tamer took this chance to sweep Cockatrimon's leg, planting him on the ground, and he climbed atop him with his digivice in hand, "Alright! Fix the digidestined, call off your slugs, and get me some sugar for this tea! But not necessarily in that order!"

Cockatrimon continued to squeal so the Tamer slapped his face, "Are you listening? Fix them!"

"I can't!" Cockatrimon squeaked, "Once they're like that, I can't turn them back!"

Tamer looked up at a group of nearby Numemon, "You! Untie them! And you! Is he telling the truth?"

The Numemon remained frozen in terror, so he asked again, "Is Cockatrimon telling the truth?"

"No!" the Numemon stammered, "You…you can fix them…Cockatrimon just needs to let them go!"

"Don't tell him that!" another Numemon nudged his comrade. The damage was done and Tamer hopped off the giant bird, "Knew it. Fix them!"

"No! If I do, Lord Myotismon will-"

"Myotismon!" Agumon gasped, "Oh no."

"Who's Myotismon?" Sora and Biyomon asked. Agumon turned pale while Tamer continued, "Right now, I'm your problem. Change them back!"

"If I change them back, then they all will! The old statues too. But how old they are, they won't come back to life! They'll die! Can you live with yourself knowing that you killed all of them? Look at them! You recognize them don't you?" Cockatrimon argued. Tamer looked up at a few of the statues, remaining passive the entire time. It was impossible to recognize any of them because of their state. The hooded ones definitely couldn't be made out, but he visibly hesitated when he looked at them. He frowned and muttered, "They've been dead to me for a long time. Besides, I don't think any of them would like to see the Digital World the way it is now. Change them back."

"You-"

Tamer pressed his foot on Cockatrimon's neck. The chicken choked and gasped for air before finally croaking, "I'll do it! I'll let them go!"

The older, faded statues cracked and crumbled before turning to dust. The statues of their friends cracked and crumbled away, revealing that they were alive and well underneath the stone. Joe, who'd been sitting when he was frozen, fell over and hit his head on the floor. The others were dazed and confused, but understood what was happening when they saw the scene before them. One of the Numemon undid the ropes on Sora, Biyomon, and Agumon. It backed away slowly as Agumon rose up and stretched. With everyone released, Cockatrimon said, "There! I let them go!"

"Good, now get off my ship," Tamer stepped off Cockatrimon. Cockatrimon sat up, still rubbing his sore eyes but he could at least open them slightly, "What? That wasn't part of the deal! You can't just-"

Tamer squirted more lemon juice in its eyes and he howled in pain. Tamer repeated himself, "Get off my ship! I won't say it again."

"Kill me," Cockatrimon replied, surprising them all, "If Lord Myotismon finds out that I failed, I'm a dead digimon anyway! Just kill me!"

Everyone watched Tamer, still pointing his digivice at Cockatrimon. He looked up momentarily, realizing that the others had their eyes on him. He took a moment to think, he could kill Cockatrimon right now. It seemed cruel at first, but he had a point. Myotismon would do terrible things to him if he found out he failed. Knowing that, sparing him became the much crueler choice. His gaze shifted around the deck, then rested on some of the dust piles. He remained quiet in thought before finally helping Cockatrimon up. He motioned to several of the Numemon, and they helped guide their blinded leader to the boarding ramp. Cockatrimon made one last plea, "Please! Don't do this! I can't face Myotismon! He'll destroy me."

"Then run," Tamer replied quietly, surprising them, "Just run. Run away. As fast and as far as you can. From Myotismon. And from me. I don't ever want to see your face again. Understand?"

If Cockatrimon's eyes weren't already tearing from the lemon juice, they were definitely crying now. The Numemon filed off the ship quickly and once the last of them were gone, Tamer retracted the boarding ramp to keep them from getting back on. They were commanded to leave, and they hurried off under the hot desert sun. Tamer turned to face them, "Is everyone alright?"

"My head hurts, but I think I'm fine," Joe whined, massaging the back of his head, "So can anyone tell us what happened? Last thing I remember, we were in the infirmary."

Biyomon brought them up to speed, explaining everything that happened before they were turned to normal. Sora limped her way to the Tamer, "I'm happy to see you're alright. Thanks for helping us out and for letting him live."

"Don't," Tamer replied quietly, "Letting them live was cruel, because now they're going to spend the rest of their lives running from Myotismon. And digimon have very long lives. That's a very long time to be afraid."

"Who is Myotismon?" Izzy asked. Biyomon had finished telling her story, but it did leave them with a lot of lingering questions. When did he wake up, who was going to clean up the mess he'd made, and who was Myotismon. Tamer folded his arms, "Trouble. Let's forget about that, though. We have a ship now!"

"Yeah, that's great. Does anyone know how to run it?" Izzy asked rhetorically, "Because I doubt any of us knows how to steer it. Or that it'll work on sand."

"If a giant chicken and some overgrown slugs can drive it, why can't we?" Tamer smirked, somehow missing the absurdity of his statement, "Let's go check out the bridge of the ship!"

"Digimon Tamer! Can you stop joking around for one second and tell us who Myotismon is?" Sora shouted, "Cockatrimon looked really afraid, and so did Agumon. Who is this digimon and what are we up against?"

Tamer sighed, "Okay. Remember Etemon? Well Myotismon is like…fifty of Etemon. He's stronger, faster, smarter, and more cunning. He won't fight us directly unless he has to. He's more the type to send underlings after us. Except, unlike Etemon, he knows what he's doing. Also, he likes to get inside your head. Sort of like me but he's much more depressing about it. By the way, where is Etemon?"

"Sora and Biyomon took care of him," Agumon answered, "Oh yeah! I meant to tell you! They got a crest to work!"

"They did?" Tamer turned to face Sora with an awed expression. He walked right towards her, circling around and studying her with a curious fascination like a vulture circling its prey. Sora pushed him away, "What are you doing?"

"You got the crest to glow! Which one?" Tamer asked excitedly, almost like he was laughing. He reached into his pocket to produce the other three crests, "I know there's mine, but which of the other three did you make glow?"

"The one Datamon had," Sora retrieved her red crest from her pocket and showed it to him. Tamer gawked at it, reaching towards it as if to take it from her. Sora pulled it in closer, her palm sweating. The manic look in his eye flickered there for a moment. In the end, he closed her hand, "Keep it. It's yours."

"What?" she blinked.

"Why does she get to keep it!?" Mimi complained, "You took all the others!"

"Because it's her crest. If she was able to make it glow and use its power to digivolve her partner, then that makes it hers," Tamer explained, "That's exactly what we need right now. A digimon who can get to the ultimate level! Perfect! How'd you do it though? We've been trying for centuries and we haven't been able to get ours to work once."

"So will Myotismon be a problem since we have a crest to work?" Matt asked.

"Oh no, he'll kill us where we stand if we fight him now," Tamer said, "We'll need to get a lot stronger if we want to stand a chance. And that means we'd better figure out how to get this ship going!"

"Are we going back to Piximon's place?" Mimi asked hopefully. Tamer shook his head, "We're going to find the rest of the crests! Sora can show us how to get the crests to work, and then we'll have seven digimon capable of going to the Ultimate level! Agumon, let's head for the bridge!"

"Actually, I think I'll head down to the engine room, see if we can get it going," Agumon said, making a dash for the stairs. Tamer nodded, "Good thinking! Let's go!"

The pair disappeared into the ship leaving the rest of the digidestined standing there surprised. Matt was the first one to break the silence, "He looks like he's back to normal."

"I think I preferred him when he was quiet," Gomamon mentioned, waddling along side them, "Then again, I guess we should be thankful."

"If he expects us to clean up his mess, he's got another thing coming," Mimi remarked of the floor covered in salt and dust. Sora and Biyomon briefly considered mentioning where the dust came from but decided against it. They were probably better off not knowing.

"So how did you get the crest to work?" Mimi asked the pair of them, "The light show was pretty, but it'd be nice if we could do it again."

Sora and Biyomon shrugged. Neither of them knew how it happened in the first place and weren't keen on _hoping_ it would happen a second time. They needed to know how it happened, but how were they supposed to figure it out? Tamer said he'd tried for centuries and learned nothing. It occurred to her that his statement sounded off. Leomon mentioned that he'd travelled with Tamer hundreds of years ago.

Their thoughts were interrupted when the ship suddenly lurched forward. The Tamer's voice echoed through an unseen PA system, "Attention passengers! This is your captain speaking! Our ship is now departing!"

"Great, now he has a microphone," Joe frowned, "And how did he get this ship to move!? We're on sand!"

"I think we should've given up asking questions by now," Matt answered, "All the answers just make my head hurt. And nothing in this world really makes sense anyway."

"Well this breeze is nice. Plus, there's an awesome pool!" Mimi squealed. The ship carried on coasting through the desert sands with ease.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** And done! Come back next week on Friday, March 4th! If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism and speculation. There'll usually be a reply in a day or two. Unless you leave a guest review. Then the reply will come through the next author's notes. See you guys at Chapter 18! Now, something new, a teaser of lines from the next chapter. These are just random lines I picked out from the next chapter and are not in the order they'll be seen:

"They have restaurants in the Digital World," Joe said to himself quietly.

"How did you crash us into a something that big!?" Matt demanded.

Greymon's guttural voice said, "Maybe if you were better at giving directions."


	18. Familiar Places

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** And here we are! Chapter 18 – The Diner and The House. I know my teaser last time left you all wanting more, so here we are! A big thank you to all of you who left reviews, and to those of you who followed, liked, or favorited the story! And another big thanks to Ace Spiritwell for handling the cover art for the Tamer. Seriously! Go check out their fan fiction account and their deviantart if you haven't already. This week, we have a breather chapter – there will be some story developments but it's mostly to put the characters in a scenario to see what happens. I don't have much else to say, so on with the show!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 18: Familiar Places**

Their cruise through the desert was a relaxing, joyful change of pace from the last few days of fighting or running for their lives. TK especially enjoyed using the down time to rip off everything but his shorts and jump into the pool with Tokomon and Gomamon. They raced each other constantly to see who was faster. Mimi and Palmon enjoyed whatever treats were left behind the bar, although Joe went out of his way to confiscate all the alcohol and toss it overboard. Sora, Biyomon, and Gabumon listened to Matt play on his harmonica - something they said he had to do more often. He wasn't ungrateful for the compliments, but was unprepared to hear the praise he received between songs.

Agumon stayed down in the engine room, making sure the machines were all working properly. Izzy and Tentomon busied themselves on the bridge with Tamer, probing him with more questions that he would only give vague answers to. He would only say they needed to find the crests, but he admitted to driving the boat aimlessly for days since he had no idea where to start and any crest they found had been entirely by accident. Unfortunately, an abrupt accident brought their cruise to a sudden halt when the ship collided with a large cactus.

"How did you crash us into a something that big!?" Matt demanded of Tamer when he left the bridge to inspect the damage, "There is literally nothing but flat desert for miles! Did you close your eyes when you were driving the boat or did you just think it would be fun?"

"I thought it was a mirage," Tamer offered sheepishly, "A hundred thousand years, and I've never seen a cactus that big. On the plus side, we're in the shade!"

"Yeah, and shipwrecked," Joe added, pointing to damaged bow of the ship. Agumon slapped him in the back, "You've gotta learn not to focus on the negative so much. Look on the bright side! Now we'll get plenty of exercise walking through the desert!"

"How is that a bright side?"

"I'm trying to be positive," Agumon stated. Joe groaned and the two continued arguing. TK and Tokomon gaped at the large cactus before them; neither of them had ever seen anything so big. It seemed impossibly tall, stretching higher into the sky than their necks would let their heads turn. A glimmer of light from atop the cactus caught TK's attention, "Hey, what's that?"

"It's a cactus TK," Izzy said, "Plants that have adapted to surviving in arid environment with minimal rainfall by conserving water for extended periods of time."

"Not that! That!" TK pointed to the very top of the cactus, and Izzy noticed the glimmer as well, "I have no idea. Tentomon, could you-"

"Already on it!" the bug saluted and flew skyward to the very top of the cactus. Upon its head rested a blossoming pink flower that released an alluring scent that drew Tentomon in. He found it hard to resist and soon buried himself in the embrace of its petals, oblivious to the powdered substance it left on him. He quickly forgot why he was there as he bathed in the bliss of the plant.

"What's Tentomon doing?" TK asked curiously, watching the insect digimon scurry about the top of the plant in a haze. Izzy cocked his head to the side in disapproval, "I think he's pollinating. HEY! TENTOMON! WHAT DO YOU SEE UP THERE!?"

Tentomon snapped out of his trance and returned to looking for the source of the glimmer. He found it nestled in the center of the flower, a small green crest with a symbol resembling a teardrop. Tentomon scooped it up and quickly returned to the others, "Izzy! I found a crest!"

"Another one?" Izzy's jaw fell open, "Is it just me or are we finding these a little too quickly? I mean Tamer and Agumon were looking for a long time. How are we just running into them?"

"Who cares? I'm not going to let them have this one. I still want to make those friendship bracelets," Mimi appeared beside them and snatched it out of Tentomon's hands to tuck into his bag. TK observed her behavior and quietly asked, "Shouldn't we tell them we have another one?"

"I don't think they even noticed," Palmon pointed in their direction. Agumon, Tamer, Joe, and Gomamon were so engrossed in their bickering that they hadn't noticed anything. Joe's point was that they wouldn't survive long in the desert if they didn't know where they are. Tamer insisted they'd just use a map but Gomamon argued they didn't have any. Tamer responded by pointing his digivice at Joe's and the two hummed to life. Joe took his out and he remarked, "Hey! Where'd this map come from?"

"It's always been there. Don't you guys know how to use these?" Tamer asked, "All this time, no one's stopped to fiddle with the digivice?"

"Hey, back off! So we don't know a lot of things! That's not our fault! You haven't told us much since we met you! In fact, no one's really told us anything useful since we got here besides we're supposed to stop some bad guys," Matt snapped, "Maybe it's not obvious to you yet, but we haven't been doing this as long as you have old man!"

"What did you call me?" Tamer's expression was save for his eyebrow twitching.

"You heard me! You look as young as us but everyone goes on about how _old_ you are. So how old are you really? Leomon said you'd be at least a hundred. So that makes you an old man!" Matt growled. Izzy looked at the tension between the two and thought it would be best to try and diffuse it right away, "Matt's hostility aside, you do have an unfortunate habit of mocking us as humor that's become tiresome. It would help relations between us if you didn't make a point of laughing at our expense."

Tamer and Matt continued staring angrily at each other but finally turned their backs. Gomamon snickered, "No matter how old he says he is, he still acts like a kid."

"He really does, y'know?" Agumon added with a giggle. Tamer was less than amused and looked at the map on his digivice, "Whatever. Hey, I know where this is. There's a nice restaurant about five miles from here. Who's hungry? I'm buying!"

"Don't change the subject," Matt snapped, "We're talking about you making fun of us!"

"He has?" TK asked, "I never noticed."

"Maybe it's one of those grown up things," Tokomon guessed innocently. Matt looked at his little brother and tried to think of a way to explain that most of Tamer's comments had been mocking – but he wasn't sure either of them would grasp the concept.

"Look, if you're looking for an apology, then I'm sorry. I promise I won't hurt your feelings anymore. Now can we go get lunch?" Tamer asked. His halfhearted apology didn't impress anyone and Matt continued, "Look, all I want is for you to stop making fun of us and talking down to us. We're supposed to work together! Cut us some slack and stop acting like you're better than us!"

Matt made it clear that he wasn't going to let that go. Tamer rounded on him, "I'll stop the day you guys stop walking into traps and getting into trouble. Or did you forget that you only survived Cockatrimon because I was there?"

"We did fine against Etemon and Devimon! You weren't there for one and unconscious for the other! So I don't think we need your help!" Matt growled. The conversation reminded everyone of Tamer and Gomamon's argument. Although that time, it was because Tamer and Agumon came off as heartless about the destruction of Koromon Village. Tamer finally backed down and sighed, "Okay. You're right. I'm sorry."

His apology seemed more genuine that time, although there was still a hint of mockery in his tone. That was enough for Matt and he nodded, "Okay, so what was that about a restaurant?"

"They have restaurants in the Digital World," Joe said to himself quietly. He didn't know why this surprised him. Nothing should've surprised him after everything they've seen: the devil in a mansion, a monkey who blows stuff up by singing, a robot in a pyramid, and a chicken as captain of a ship in the desert. Comparatively, the restaurant was probably the closest thing to normal they were ever going to see here. Tamer pointed out into the desert, "We know one up that way, about five miles. We used to go there all the time. I forgot why we stopped. We can make that in an hour or two if we walk fast."

"Yeah, no," Gabumon folded his arms and turned to Biyomon and Tentomon, "I have a better idea. How about we digivolve and see who can get there faster?"

"You guys really want to race in the desert?" Sora gazed skyward, feeling the scorching heat of the sun on her face. Without the ship's movement to create a nice breeze, they finally remembered how hot it really was. Biyomon nodded her agreement, "Yeah! It's way too hot for that. Besides, I would definitely win because I can fly!"

"Don't forget two of us can fly!" Tentomon added, "And I have more wings!"

"Pfft, your wings and flight won't do much against my speed!" Gabumon boasted. With the small challenge, the three digimon were pumped for a race. Sora, Matt, and Izzy's digivices sprang to life. Their partners digivolved to the champion level and everyone split up evenly between the three digimon. Except for Agumon who digivolved to Greymon while Tamer sat atop his head, "Ready to show them fast, buddy?"

"They'll eat my dust," Greymon roared. Matt, TK, and Tokomon rode on Garurumon. Sora, Joe, and Gomamon rode on Birdramon. Mimi, Izzy, and Palmon rode on Kabuterimon. Tamer flashed his digivice, bringing theirs to life with a detailed map marking their location and their destination. Tamer cheekily announced, "Destination is five miles that way! We all have maps so no one can get lost! On your mark!"

"Get set!" Greymon continued.

"GO!" They all said together. They took off as fast as they could into the desert. Garurumon took the lead, following Matt's directions as he ran. The further they went, the more he tired until Kabuterimon and Birdramon overtook the wolf. The two were neck and neck, Birdramon would pull ahead with a flap of her wings and glide for a while afterwards which Kabuterimon would used to pull ahead with the rapid beating of his wings. With time, the two of them slowed down as well and they could see Greymon gaining on them from behind. It didn't take long for the pair to pull ahead of the three racers and disappear into the horizon. This motivated the rest of them to pick up the pace and chase after them.

As the three raced, they noticed more foliage and green as they ran. The desert was replaced by forest, but it didn't stop the three from racing. Although Garurumon was forced to slow down, as the trees grew thicker, and eventually had to change course to avoid obstacles. Matt would occasionally check his digivice to make sure they were going the same direction.

Birdramon was the first to reach their destination, followed by Kabuterimon, and Garurumon brought up the rear. The forest cleared and they found themselves at the foot of a large mountain. A lone dirt road in front of them led further into the forest in one direction and up the mountain in another. At the end of the road, just before it ascended up the mountain, was a diner whose decor looked like it was stuck in late 1950s. Several digimon stepped out, rubbing their bellies and complimenting the good food. They could smell the fine cooking from within and hungrily agreed that whatever was inside smelled delicious. The champions who raced here had worked up an appetite and were now hungrily anticipating the food. The rest of them were surprised to see the closest thing that passed for normal in the Digital World for a long time. If it weren't for the digimon coming and going, they'd have thought they were still in Japan. Although Biyomon still found time to boast, "Ha! I win!"

"Congratulations," Gabumon choked out between gasps for breath, "But I still win fastest for running on the ground!"

"That's still third place," Tentomon pointed out happily, "Although it is still better than dead last."

"Speaking of last, where are they?" Joe glanced back into the forest. Tamer and Greymon had overtaken them a while ago, so how did they not arrive first? It seemed like they arrived when the trees swayed and leaves rustled, but it turned out to be a gentle breeze making its way towards them. The sudden cold air was welcome after spending days out in the hot sun, but did little to distract from the smell of the fine cooking inside. When neither of them showed up, Joe suggested they go back to look while Mimi insisted they wait inside to better smell the cooking. After waiting for an hour, Tamer and Greymon casually strolled out of the forest while bickering back and forth about getting lost. Greymon's guttural voice said, "Maybe if you were better at giving directions."

"It's not my fault I was holding it upside down!"

"It was completely your fault! How can someone as old as you not know which way is north?"

"You're supposed to be the one with the amazing sense of direction."

"Next time, I'll ride on your head and give directions. You can run around!" Greymon growled, before regressing back to Agumon. It astounded them that he was had such a terrible sense of direction. Then again, he did always manage to point in the wrong direction so perhaps reading a map incorrectly wasn't out of the ordinary.

"Hey! It's about time you guys showed up," Mimi greeted them excitedly, "The food here smells delicious! I can't wait to try some!"

"You'll love it, trust me," Tamer nodded in greeting, "Hang on, let me go talk to the owner. He may not like all of us showing up at once."

His last sentence left them all uneasy as he disappeared into the diner. The noise and bustle within died out immediately, although they could hear the sound of glasses breaking and silverware hitting the ground. After a few moments, Tamer came back out, arm in arm with a yellow plant growing vines where his arms should have been. Its head stood out the most, sharp red eyes with a beak for a mouth and five red leaves flowing off the top like hair. Tucked under the plant's arms were packets of menus that it passed to everyone present.

Tamer introduced the digimon, "Guys! This is Vegiemon. We've known him for a long time. He works at the restaurant!"

"Hi there!" the plant like digimon greeted, "Welcome to the diner! Please order whatever you'd like. I hope you don't mind eating outside. We're full today but we have some extra tables and chairs we can set up real quick."

"It is a nice day out," Mimi commented, gazing skyward, "It'll be like a picnic!"

"That sounds so fun! Let's have some food already!" Tentomon said hungrily, rifling through the menu items enthusiastically, "It all looks so good, I don't know where to start!"

"You guys figure out what you want. Let's go set up Tamer!" Agumon said, going around the back to retrieve stacks of chairs and folding tables. Two tables were placed end-to-end neatly six chairs on each side and a single chair on each end. Everyone took seats and ordered food and drinks which Vegiemon repeated verbally, the list growing longer with each order he took. He amazed them all by remembering the entire order perfectly then dashed back inside to place it.

Matt made sure TK sat next to him, with Gabumon and Tokomon flanking them on either side. Sora sat at the head of the table with Biyomon to her side. Mimi and Palmon were sandwiched between Joe and Gomamon, and Izzy and Tentomon on the other side. Agumon sat on the opposite side of Biyomon, and Tamer seated himself at the opposite end of the table. While they waited for their food, they noticed a few digimon peering out the windows of the diner to get a look at them. Specifically at Agumon and Tamer. The two of them adjusted themselves to avoid looking at the digimon in the diner, Agumon sheepishly commenting, "I remember why we stopped coming."

"At least the food's good," Tamer nodded firmly, raising his hand to obscure part of his face. This didn't stop the digimon from craning their necks to get a better view of the two. Mimi in particular was taken by how the digimon reacted, recalling Koromon Village, "You guys are famous aren't you?"

"I really wish we weren't," Tamer admitted sheepishly, "Joe, can we switch seats?"

"Sure," the pair adjusted their seating arrangement so that Joe was at the opposite head of the table with Gomamon beside him while Tamer and Agumon took their seats. This didn't remedy the digimon still peering out the window of the diner. Neither of them complained about not having to look those digimon in the eye, although Agumon suggested, "We shouldn't have come during the lunch rush. We'll be waiting forever for the food."

"On the other hand, that gives us plenty of time to talk," Tamer said quietly, reclining in his chair now that he didn't have to hide face. He looked at each of them and remarked, "Besides, I was thinking about what Matt said. We haven't really gotten to know each other."

"Maybe _you_ guys haven't. You don't really talk to us and it's not like we haven't tried talking to you," Mimi said pointedly. Palmon added, "The only stuff we know about you is what Piximon told us."

"Well, what do you guys know about each other?" Agumon asked, "I mean really know about each other. Matt and TK are brothers so we expect them to know about each other, but what about the rest of you?"

"We don't really," TK admittedly sadly, looking at his older brother longingly, "We don't get to spend much time together since our parents aren't together anymore. When we went to summer camp together, that was the first time we'd seen each other in a long time."

Matt appeared unnerved by TK's remark and put an arm around the little boy to hug him. Matt always seemed overprotective of TK. In turn, TK always seemed a little too reliant on Matt. Now it made sense why. For these two brothers, that was supposed to be a time to catch up and make up for lost time. Not to get stuck in another world.

"Hey at least you guys are close. I don't really talk to my brothers. They're usually too busy studying," Joe admittedly enviously. His tone was sullen and defeated but he carried on admitting, "And I don't really get to go out often or spend time making friends because I'm studying too. My dad's a doctor, my brother's studying for med school and my other brother is taking college entrance exams. The only reason I went to summer camp was because my mom said I had to go out more often. That it wasn't normal for a boy my age to have no friends."

"Well we're friends, aren't we Joe?" Gomamon placed a paw on his partner's hand. Joe frown formed into a weak smile, "Yeah. We are."

"And us too," Biyomon added with so much excitement that she leapt off her chair and nearly knocked the table over. Everyone at the table nodded their heads in silent agreement. They'd all grown comfortable with each other since they first came to the Digital World, through their various life and death experiences. At least, more comfortable with each other than they'd ever been before then. Palmon shared their sentiment and sniffled.

"Why are we telling you guys any of this anyway?" Matt looked at Tamer and Agumon demanding an answer. Agumon smiled knowingly and joked, "Other people usually won't stop talking about themselves when we're around. Most of them talk about their evil plans but a few take the time to gloat about how awesome they are."

"Yeah, then we have to stop them. That never gets annoying," Tamer leaned onto the table, resting his elbows. He sounded tired when he said that, again reminding them that he was older than he looked. He swiftly gestured at the many digimon in the diner, "But the fact that they're all still alive. That makes it worth it."

Several of the digimon produced cameras and were trying to take pictures of the group outside. He groaned and readjusted his hood to hide his face.

"How long have you two been going around saving digimon?" Sora asked them curiously. Tamer shifted uncomfortably and glanced sideways to his partner. Agumon saw the hesitation and nodded encouragingly. Tamer smiled happily and admitted, "I stopped counting around forty five thousand years. It could be around ninety-five thousand? Maybe more. A lot's happened so it got hard to keep track of everything."

He sounded very tired when he said that, although he still retained the same confident and goofy smile as always. His partner appeared just as worn as he did, but only for a moment. Then he smiled, "But I don't think either of us would've wanted to miss a single second of it."

For the first time they'd known either of them, they seriously believed the possibility that these two really were older than they appeared. Of course, only Mimi dared to ask such a personal question, "So how old are you guys?"

"That's personal, isn't it?" Tamer frowned.

"You keep saying how old you are, but you don't look any older than us," Izzy said back.

"If you really have to know. Agumon is about 105,119 and I'm at 105,128," Tamer answered without skipping a beat. They were unprepared to hear a number that big. Based on everything they'd heard, they could have believed he was somewhere in his hundreds. None of them could have believed either of them could be so old and look so young. For Sora, a new possibility occurred to her that she never gave any serious thought. Tai had disappeared four years ago. But Tamer was over a hundred thousand years. If that was true, then did time move differently in this world? And if it did, then was it possible that he'd forgotten all about his old life over the countless years that passed him by? How much of that did he spend alone, fighting the war, helping other digimon? Only Mimi saw a positive in all of this, "I hope I can look as good as you do when I get that old."

For once, Izzy didn't retrieve his laptop and start jotting down notes. He just asked, "So how long do you live? I mean your people, the…um…sages or whatever."

Tamer remained silent, which was all the answer he needed. Although the way his expression soured helped hammer it home. In his own mind, Izzy surmised one of two possibilities. The first was that they lived too long and without the others around, he would eventually have to watch everything around him grow old and die while he carried on. The other possibility was that he didn't have much life left and didn't want to be reminded of his own impending mortality. This seemed like the lesser of the two options, but the matter of his impossible youth meant nothing could be ruled out. Tamer waved it off with a joke, "You don't want to hear depressing stuff from an _old man_."

He looked specifically at Matt when he said that, but he continued while doing his best impression of an old man, "Then again. You young whipper-snappers should show respect to your elders! Why back in my day, we didn't have no blasted-"

Agumon slapped him hard, saying with a disapproving shudder, "Just…no."

"Yeah, that was pretty bad. Your humor was always weird but that was terrible," Gabumon agreed from across the table. Everyone laughed though, including Tamer and Agumon. Not at his terrible impression or at his expense, but in joy from the light mood. When they finally stopped, Agumon spoke, "I have to say Izzy, you're a lot smarter than you look and you come up with answers or ideas on the spot. Either that, or you just have amazing problem solving skills. The thing is, you don't usually talk unless you're asking questions or thinking out loud. Even then, you're typing on your laptop. Well, except when Mimi's teasing you."

The last sentence had Izzy turn bright red again, "Can we please stop bringing that up?"

"Only after one of you two finally owns up to liking the other," Biyomon cast a sideways glance to Mimi, who was doing her best to hide her face by talking to Palmon. TK stuck his tongue disapprovingly, "Blech, cooties."

"You say that now TK, you'll be surprised what you say in the future," Joe kidded the little boy. Before anyone could retort Joe, Vegiemon reappeared with another digimon resembling a large egg with two green reptilian legs sticking out of the bottom. There was hole in the shell where its face would have been and two glowing yellow eyes peered out from inside, "Hello! I am Digitamamon, the owner of this fine establishment! We're pleased you decided to eat with us today! Here's your food, hot and ready for eating."

The two servers brought with them several trays and platters of food that they loaded onto the table for everyone - piping hot bowls of fried rice, dumplings and rolls, a large bowl of miso soup, roasted duck, chicken glazed in sweet and sour sauce, a large pot of steamed rice, cups of warm tea, glasses of water, and pitchers of soda. Their mouths watered at the display and everyone quickly forget about what they were talking about. They gave thanks for the food and dug in quickly to the feast before. Digitamamon and Vegiemon watched them eat with pride, while Vegiemon boasted, "I'm glad you like our cooking! Please, come by more often! We're always welcome to have you!"

"Yummy!" Tokomon squealed, eating off the same plate as TK. Both of their youngest members wore looks of pure glee as they dug into the food. However, it was TK's praise that made Matt shift in his seat, "It's good, but I think I like my big brother's cooking better."

Matt maintained his cool composure but blushed all the same, something he tried to hide by raising his plate to his face. Everyone noticed, especially Digitamamon who took no offense to the little boy's comment, "What an adorable little brother. Is your brother a good cook?"

"He's the best!" TK squealed excitedly, "Hey Matt! Maybe you can help in the kitchen! I'm sure they'll like your cooking too!"

"I don't think I'm cut out for restaurant work buddy," Matt assured his little brother with a pat on the head. Digitamamon and Vegiemon laughed at TK's naivety, but politely promised that they would try to be as good as his older brother. As Izzy ate, "The delicious taste and combination of healthy food items produced a high quality meal that reflects your cooking expertise."

Digitamamon's entire body cocked to the side confused, "I have no idea what you said."

"He said the food is delicious and that you're a good cook," Tamer explained between mouthfuls of food. After finishing only one plate, he sat up and stretched, "That was good. If you guys still have room after all this food, you can order desert if you'd like."

"Oh boy! I want a sundae the size of my head!" TK shouted, raising a spoon in the air. Tokomon and Mimi were right behind him, "Us too!"

"You'll get a stomach ache guys," Joe sighed sheepishly. This didn't deter their moods, and they started chanting for ice cream. Palmon and Gomamon joined in on the excited chanting. Together, they started banging their spoons on the table, stopping only when Matt shot them disapproving looks. Vegiemon didn't seem to mind and fetched their dessert. He returned with the sundaes and a bill for Tamer. He went in to pay and Izzy followed him inside to learn more about the currency of the Digital World.

Inside, the decorum matched the diner aesthetic it had on the outside and it was packed full of digimon. The bustle inside became dead quiet when Tamer walked in; every digimon who'd been peering out the window was now trying their best to not look like they were staring - but it only made it more pointedly obvious. Only one stood out because of how indifferent he came off to Tamer's presence: a digimon wearing a ragged khaki one-piece jumpsuit covered in zippers beneath a blue cape engraved by silver markings. It concealed its face beneath a pointed hat with a skull atop and buried itself in a book it had been holding. The only distinguishing feature Izzy could make out were the golden slivers of hair coming out from under the hat.

The sound of a cashier ringing reminded Izzy why they were here and he raced to see what kind of money they used. He was disappointed to learn it was all paper money called Digi Dollars, something the Tamer had a large amount of concealed within his cloak. The diner goers continued 'not' staring as they went back outside, and the bustle resumed once they'd gone out the door. They waited a little longer to finish desert and thanked their hosts for the delicious food. After that, it was back on the road to continue their search for the crests.

"That was delicious! Can we go back some time?" TK asked, massaging his belly happily. Tamer and Agumon looked at each other, immediately recognizing they had the same idea, "No."

"Aw! Why not?"

"Because we don't like being watched," Tamer said, casually looking around the surrounding forest. Agumon was just as uneasy, "Maybe on a day when it's not so busy."

"Where are we going now?" Joe asked.

"No idea. We have to look for crests, but I don't know where to start. Honestly, I think we've found more with you guys in the last few days than we have in the entire time we've been looking. So we keep wandering around with you and we'll find them eventually," Tamer explained to them casually, "But before that! I need to get something. I don't want to drop these crests just jangling around in my pocket. It was hard enough when I only knew where one was. I don't want to lose the five we have and go looking again."

"Six," TK corrected him. Tamer and Agumon stopped in their tracks to look at the little boy, "No, Five. There's mine, the two Mimi had, the one in the tunnel and the one Sora used to digivolve Birdramon."

"Hey, back off him Tamer," Matt scolded, "So he lost count, what's the big deal?"

"It's okay Matt. He's just made cos' he doesn't know. We have six if you count the one Tentomon found," TK pointed at the bug insect. Tamer and Agumon rolled their heads in Tentomon's direction, "And when were you going to mention this?"

"Mimi has them," Tentomon buzzed behind Izzy, fearful of the ever-growing scowl on Tamer's face. Tamer extended an open hand to Mimi and stated, "Hand it over."

Mimi pulled her bag up to her chest and Palmon stepped in front of her with her arms spread out, "No way! Can't you just let her have this?"

"The keys to strengthening our partners and saving the Digital World, and she wants to keep it because it's pretty," Tamer stated mockingly, "I say no. Give it here Mimi."

"No! You let Sora keep hers. I swear I'm not going to lose it if that's what you're worried about," Mimi argued, still holding her bag. Tamer sighed, "I let her keep her crest because it was hers. It resonated with her, which means only she can use it. No one else. If you keep that crest, what will you do when it resonates with someone else? Like TK. Are you going to keep it then too?"

"Well it hasn't resonated with anyone yet! So I'm going to keep it until it does," Mimi hissed, glaring now. Tamer retained his composure, still extending his hand. No one expected his next reaction. He lowered his arm and backed away from Mimi, "Fine, keep it."

Mimi relaxed a little and lowered her bag once Tamer took the lead with Agumon, walking some distance ahead of the others. They eventually came to a large lake so wide across that they could barely see the other side of it in the horizon. Agumon loudly proclaimed, "Finally! Home sweet home!"

"This is where you guys live?" Biyomon frowned. Agumon walked out into the water, "Yeah, we live in the lake."

"Like on a boat?" Tentomon guessed.

"I think he means they have a house nearby," Izzy corrected.

"No, _IN_ the lake," Agumon said more clearly, "Or under if that makes more sense to you guys."

"No complaints here, it's like living in a giant bath tub," Gomamon leapt into the lake with Agumon. He completely vanished beneath the surface with a splash, but Agumon looked out into the water as if he was watching him swim away. Sora put her arms to her hips, "Do you guys expect us to just grow gills? We can't exactly breathe underwater, and I don't think any of us can swim for too long."

"No, that'd be ridiculous. Gills and swimming. You'd never be able to eat! The food would float away. Also, everything would always get wet. And when you pee, it'd just float up to your face. Nah, we walk to the bottom of the lake," Tamer joined Agumon and Gomamon by stepping knee deep into the water, "Are you guys coming?"

"Oh! I get it! It's another illusion! Like the one with Piximon!" Izzy declared excitedly. He tested the theory by following them out into the water, submerging himself up to his ankles without feeling the chill of water. As he went further, he found the water wasn't soaking him or his clothes, nor did it ripple outwards as he moved, "It's fake. It's not real water."

"Yup," Tamer said, going further ahead until he completely disappeared under the water. Agumon followed suit, and soon he vanished beneath the water's surface. Intrigued by their display, everyone else slowly tiptoed into the water and followed him in. Once they were beneath the water's surface, they could see a narrow flight of stairs leading from the shore down into the lakebed. The water surrounding the stairs was held back by more hard light walls, similar to what Datamon had in the pyramid.

Through it, they could see fish, oysters, shellfish, and all other assortment of aquatic life floating in the water. Further ahead were Tamer, Agumon and Gomamon casually striding towards the lakebed. And at the bottom of the stairs was one more impossible sight, one that could only be feasible in the impossible Digital World. It was a large house in a traditional Japanese style, surrounded by a lush garden protected by a large white wall. The stairs led directly to an old wooden gate that Agumon pushed open in a hurry.

Beyond the door lay a cobblestone path that led across a grass field to a red bridge over a small stream of water that circled around the main house. Bonsai trees and cherry blossoms decorated the outer edge of the complex, and flowery bushes lined the path to the front door. Tucked away in a corner was a large, well polished white stone that looked oddly out of place.

Agumon went inside ahead of them, to reveal its wooden interior complete with matted floors. There was a mat at the entrance where Tamer left his shoes while Agumon wiped his feet on a rug on the other side.

"We're home!" the pair called out into the house as they wandered inside. Everyone noticed that their greeting wasn't answered while they followed them inside. They found a large living room and kitchen divided by a small counter. The kitchen was furnished with a refrigerator, a sink, a small stove, and some cupboards. To the side was a sliding door into a bedroom and opposite it was a door leading into a bathroom. The living room had a large table surrounded on all sides by several pillows for sitting. What stood out most was how bare it was of any decorations or personal touches. No pictures, no posters, no upholstery, nothing to indicate either of the pair tried to make it feel like home. TK and Tokomon were less interested in the decorating and more interested in playing, "Do you guys have any toys?"

"There's a garden you can play in," Tamer stated as he ran into the bedroom.

"Okay! Tokomon! Let's play tag!" TK ran back outside, not thinking to put his shoes on. Tokomon bounced along behind him and Matt gave chase, hurriedly putting his shoes back on, "TK! Put your shoes on!"

"So do you guys want anything to drink? The milk might have gone bad but the water and soda should still be good," Agumon offered, digging into the fridge. He passed them bottles of water and cans of soda as they requested, then settled into one of the pillows at the table, "Have a seat guys!"

"So…this is where you live?" Sora asked to keep from sitting in awkward silence. She was surprised – not by the fact that there was a house under the lake, but by the fact that these two would even have such a nice home. Agumon guzzled down his own bottle of water, "Yup! Well…more like this where we come to lie low."

"Where did you guys get this place? Did you build it?" Biyomon asked. Izzy took this chance to say, "Given what we've seen, it's entirely possible that the Digital World has realtors who manage sales of properties to digimon looking for homes within a price range. Although I think this place would be quite difficult to conceal if anyone else knew about it."

"To be honest, I don't know where it came from," Agumon admitted, "Tamer just sort of knew it was here. He's never said where it came from, but I think his people made it. All the tech around it looks right anyway. Like the hard light that keeps the water out. Or the fact that we have salt water and fresh water fish in the same water."

"You guys just come and go? Didn't you ever look to see if there was an owner?" Gabumon looked around nervously at their surroundings - in case there was a previous owner. Tamer called out from the room, "It belonged to someone we…well, I used to know. He's not around anymore, so we take care of it. Well, more like use it in his absence."

"You don't say," Mimi sighed, looking around. It didn't seem possible that the place had a previous owner since it was so sparse. The entire design was pragmatic, favoring functionality over aesthetic. Mimi especially commented on the lack of decorations, "You guys could really do with a new wallpaper. Maybe some plants. A little sprucing up could really do this place a favor."

"We are not redecorating," Tamer said, emerging from the bedroom with a small leather case tucked under his arm. He set the case down on the table and set the crests down beside it. He undid a few buckles and opened the case to reveal the velvet-lined interior. Resting inside were eight grooves containing seven necklaces like the one the Tamer wore. The last was empty, presumably because Tamer was wearing one. He slid the case to Sora, "Each of you take one of those tags. They were meant to hold the crests but, like I said before, I lost them."

They slid the case around the table, each taking a tag for themselves. Sora, Mimi, Izzy, and Joe slid the necklace over their head to adjust the length. Once they had it at around chest height, three of the crests came to life. The crest with a heart glowed a soft red while the one with an infinity symbol emanated purple light. Mimi opened her bag when she saw the green glow from inside and watched in awe as the crest inside it floated to chest height. The other crests did the same thing and gently moved through the air, the red crest went to Sora and the purple to Izzy. The crests slid themselves into their tags and clicked into place. They all gaped in awe, surprised that the tags did that but no one was more surprised than Tamer, "What?"

Izzy's mouth was already running with possible explanations for what just happened, various theories from magic to harmonic resonance to biometrics. What any of that meant was anyone's guess. Mimi took the chance to grin happily and shoot the Tamer a smug face, "Would you look at that! It was my crest all along! I guess it's a good thing I didn't give it to you. That would've been embarrassing!"

"Wait, none of the crests did that for me," Joe's voice hinted of disappointment, and Gomamon offered him a paw, "Hey! No worries Joe, we're still missing one crest."

Before Joe could point out the obvious error, Matt returned inside with his little brother and Tokomon in tow, "I told you to put shoes on."

TK was soaking wet and sullenly stood at the doorway, dripping water all over their shoes. Agumon ran into the bathroom to fetch a towel while Gabumon asked, "What happened to you guys?"

"You don't want to know," Matt sighed, pulling his little brother's coat and hat off to wring them out. Tokomon explained innocently, "TK decided Matt needed cheering up so we added him to our game of tag. TK was having so much fun playing that he stubbed his toe on a rock and fell into the stream."

"Aw, Matt, you shouldn't be upset at him. He only wanted to cheer you up," Mimi chastised the older brother, who instinctively answered, "I'm not upset at him. I just…worry, y'know. He's gonna catch a cold."

"He'll be fine," Agumon reappeared with a towel that he used to dry off TK's hair. He handed another one to the little boy and said, "You can go change in the bathroom. I put a pair of Tamer's old clothes in there. They're not new, but it's better than wearing those wet clothes."

"Thanks!" TK said while continuing to dry himself with a towel. He disappeared into the bathroom and locked the door behind him.

"So what are you guys doing?" Matt joined them beside Gabumon, staring at their tags, "What's with the necklaces?"

"Those tags connect to the crests! Here! Try one!" Gabumon passed one to his partner, who fumbled with it his hands. He wasn't sure what he'd missed but he did hesitate to don the necklace. The others stared at him expectantly, and Matt wrapped it around his neck. On cue, another crest glowed blue and zipped through the air into his tag, "Whoa! What was that?"

"WOW! That was SO cool!" TK screamed as he came back out of the bathroom. He dressed in a ragged blue long sleeve shirt and black sweat pants that were just a size too small. Patches were sewn into the clothes at the knees and other parts were hemmed shut, emphasizing how old it really was. TK dashed straight towards them, "How did you do that? Can I try?"

"Ew, TK! What are you wearing?" Mimi inched away from the little boy, "That looks worse than Tamer's rags."

"It's his old clothes," Agumon pointed at Tamer, who refrained from making eye contact. Izzy slid the case to TK's end of the table, "Here! There's one crest left and two tags!"

Like a child opening presents on Christmas, TK grabbed the case and propped the tag around his neck. The moment it was on him, the final crest came to life with golden light and inserted itself into his tag. He oohed excitedly, "So is this my crest? Can it do that again?"

He slid the crest out of the tag and placed it on the table. Like before, the crest came aglow and floated back into the tag. The little boy's excitement was doled out in one loud, "THIS IS SO COOL!"

He repeatedly slid the crest out of the tag just to watch it reinsert itself into the tag. Joe continued to lament that fact that he was the only one to not have one, but Gomamon assured him that they would find his eventually. While this happened, Tamer continued to stare dumbfounded at all of them, "WHAT!?"

"What?" Sora asked back.

"How?" Tamer asked TK, who was still amused by how easily the crest flew back into the tag. He even made a game of moving the tag around but the crest always aligned perfectly. The little boy giggled and cheered each time, "Wow! That's so cool! Can yours do it, too?"

"No," Tamer moaned, demonstrating by sliding the crest out of his tag and placing it on the table. It lay there and made no attempt to return itself to Tamer's crest, "It never did that. Ever!"

"Maybe your crest is broken. Is there a way to fix it?" Joe suggested. Tamer could only begin sputtering questions stupidly, "How!? When!? Why? WHAT!?"

Agumon had to slap him to get him to stop. After taking a few short breaths to calm down, Tamer nonchalantly stated, "Okay…that was a first. I did not know they did that. How did you make them do that?"

"Well we are the digidestined! It'd be weird if we couldn't," Mimi said in a mocking tone reminiscent of Tamer, "Maybe if you spent less time bossing people around and making fun of them, it'd work!"

"Did she just do my thing? I feel violated," Tamer said with disgust, crossing his arms and turning away. There was no denying her point though. Tamer claimed he'd been trying for centuries to figure out to make his crest work. Meanwhile, they had learned about and done more them in the few days they had them. Sora even made one work. This asked the question, what was Tamer doing wrong? The answer seemed glaringly obvious. Tamer and Agumon had more anger and frustration than the rest of them put together. Of course, it was for that reason that nobody wanted to bring it up.

"Okay, we know we still need to find my crest. But what about the last tag?" Joe inquired, pointing at the case. Tamer took out the last tag and pocketed it, "There are eight crests that I know of."

"So if there are eight crests, that should mean there's eight of us," Izzy mused, "But what happened to the eighth child? When we were still in our world, we saw seven lights come out of the portal to the Digital World. However, we only found six digivices, so what happened to the seventh?"

"No idea," Tamer replied, "Man, that's new. For once, I'm the one with no clue what's going on and no answers. Agumon, is this how you feel all the time? It sucks."

"Nah. If anything, it's a relief to know that you're the one annoying everyone. It makes them want to kill you first," Agumon remarked jokingly. It was hard to not laugh, and a few of them quietly snickered. Once again, Tamer was flustered, "Stop laughing."

"Sorry. It's just different, seeing you be confused instead of the other way around," Sora giggled. When she saw the serious expression on Tamer's face, her laughter died. At first, it seemed like he was glaring at her. Then she realized he was looking past her to the open front door. She turned her head to see a humanoid digimon in a blue cloak and a pointed hat kneeling at the entrance. Tamer greeted the stranger cautiously, "Hey Wizardmon. Don't come in without knocking. And don't bow. It's weird."

"I'm just showing you due respect, Digimon Tamer and Agumon," Wizardmon stated as he stood up, "I'm glad to see you're alright. When I heard about Koromon Village, I feared the worst."

"Hey! I know you! You're the one from restaurant!" Izzy pointed at the digimon, recalling that he was heavily engrossed in a book he was reading. Wizardmon ignored Izzy's remark and continued staring at Tamer expectantly. Tamer waved him away, "I don't want to talk about it. Why are you here?"

Wizardmon sighed, "I thought you might like to know that some of the digimon who escaped Koromon Village were captured by Myotismon: a few Koromon, a Gekomon, some Otamamon, and a Gotsumon. He plans on publicly executing them in a week, to set an example to any digimon who supports you."

"Oh no! When did this happen!? Are they alright!?" Palmon gasped. The same feeling of dread came over everyone in the group. They'd hoped that some digimon made it out of there okay, they just didn't think those digimon would find themselves in trouble. Knowing that they'd been captured almost made the endeavor seem pointless. What was the point in trying to help when it could only make things worse?

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Wizardmon eyed them wearily, keeping his position at the entrance. Agumon acquainted them, "These are the digidestined. Meet Sora, Matt, Izzy, Mimi, TK, Joe, Biyomon, Gabumon, Tentomon, Palmon, Tokomon, and Gomamon! Guys, this is Wizardmon, he's a good friend of ours."

"Eh, friend is kind of strong. It's more like we have a common enemy. He spies on Myotismon for us," Tamer shrugged dismissively. Izzy noticed Wizardmon's hand curl into a fist, but kept that detail to himself while Tamer continued, "So where is he doing this?"

"The Coliseum. There will be a lot of digimon there. Some are coming to watch for entertainment, but most will be forced there," Wizardmon said glumly, placing emphasis on the next part, "He's trying to draw you out."

Tamer and Agumon swapped nervous glances for a brief moment, and it was clear they had the same thought. Agumon said, "Myotismon couldn't make this trap more obvious if he had a flashing sign out in front of the coliseum."

"Which is why we're totally going to set off that trap!" Tamer finished excitedly, standing up on the table. Joe didn't share his enthusiasm and chastised the pair, "After all the times you guys told us to stop walking into traps? And what about Myotismon? I thought you said we needed the crests to fight him!"

"We're not going to fight him! That'd be suicide. What we are going to do is embarrass him in front of a crowd and knock him down a peg," Tamer said with a big grin, "Is he going to be there in person? I want to see the look on his face."

"No, he won't leave his castle. He will make a live broadcast for the digimon there - to warn them of the punishment for siding against him," Wizardmon answered to Tamer's disappointment, "Y'know that castle wasn't always his."

Wizardmon noted his response and replied, "It may as well be since the war. Speaking of which, you should know that they've almost figure out how to make the gate work. They've been able to make it open, but not control where it leads. Most of the digimon who've stepped through are lost. There's no idea where they've ended up."

"All the more reason to make him look like an idiot in front of hundreds of digimon," Tamer said mischievously. Anyone there could tell that his mind was racing with thoughts. But they were all too focused on the mention of the gate to notice. Joe was the first to jump on the new detail, "What was that about a gate?"

"The gate was created by the Ancients a long time ago. If used properly, you could open a path to other worlds. The gate was sealed during the war and the controls scrambled. If it ever fell into the wrong hands, the last thing we wanted was for the war to spread to more worlds," Tamer explained sheepishly, "It can send you guys back to your world. The problem is Myotismon is sitting right on top of it with an army. If we can get all the crests and figure out how they work, you guys might just get your shot at going home."

Home. That one word had them all going silent. They had a chance to go home, all they would have to do is make sure Myotismon didn't get to it first. To do that, they would need the last two crests and to figure out who the eighth child was. Thinking on it, they wondered if there had been an eighth child here all along, traveling the Digital World on their own with a digimon partner like they had not too long ago.

"I'll take my leave. Remember, it will be in one week. Oh, and I will be on vacation for the next few days so…do with that what you will," Wizardmon bowed before disappearing. He somehow managed to fade away, leaving no trace that he'd ever been there. They all looked from where Wizardmon stood just moments ago to Tamer and Agumon. With a big grin, Tamer looked at each and every one of them, "I know what you're thinking. You want to go home to your world. Well, you're almost there. There's just one thing that has to be done before you can do that. Defeat Myotismon. Are you guys up for it?"

"He's working on a gate with the capacity to open paths to other worlds. Can I safely surmise that one possible world would be ours," Izzy asked. Tamer nodded, "Yes. Which is what makes defeating him all the more important."

"Then it seems our mission has expanded from saving the Digital World to saving our world too," Izzy said.

"That's the first thing Izzy's said that I understood. And he's right," Mimi raised a hand to the air with the other wrapped around her tag, "What do you think Palmon?"

"You've helped save our world, so why shouldn't I help save yours?" Palmon nodded excitedly.

"I can't wait to see mommy and daddy!" TK added, "They'll just love to meet you Tokomon!"

"Do you really think so?"

"I know so!" TK picked up his partner and hugged him tight. Matt beamed at his little brother, "Well, that settles it for me."

"And wherever Matt goes, I go!" Gabumon agreed.

"Okay guys," Agumon said, "We've got a lot of planning to do and only a few days to do it. Let's get to work!"

"Alright!" they cheered.

Tamer and Agumon trained them hard that day. There was plenty of physical conditioning for the digimon, but the digidestined had to memorize a lot of details of the plan. As Tamer put it, they would get one shot to pull it off so they couldn't afford a slip up. So anytime one of them took too long to do something, he started everything over from scratch. And they were ready to pass out from fatigue.

They retired later that night into bedroom. It was more spacious than it looked, with several futons laid out for them and their partners. Thankfully, they had running water and heat so they could clean themselves up in the bathroom before they went to sleep. The sweat and grime from the day's training left them smelly and feeling disgusting. They had eight futons, one for everyone to share with their digimon partners except Agumon who got to keep the last futon for himself. Even though he didn't have to keep watch, he refused to sleep and stayed up all night drinking soda in the lounge area.

Or so they thought. It wasn't until Mimi woke up in the middle of the night that she realized this. It was the call of nature from drinking too much soda earlier. When she finished her business, she noticed Tamer was no longer in the common room and the front door had been left wide open. Still groggy, she ventured outside in to the moonlit yard. The way the light shimmered through the darkened waters cast a beautiful glow across the entire area. It was so breathtaking, that it woke her up right away - and alerted to soft whispers. Instinctively, she followed the soft noise into a corner of the yard surrounded by bushes where stood the white stone from before. Now that she was close enough to see it, she could see more of the weird hieroglyphs Izzy constantly obsessed over scrawled on the front. Before it was Tamer, casting his eyes downward at it and speaking quietly.

Mimi opened her mouth to say something but stopped when she heard the words he spoke, "The digidestined are nice. Young, naive, inexperienced. But you'd have liked them. This one girl, Sora, she's got it in her head that I'm her friend from a long time ago who died. Never met her before now, though. And the youngest member, TK - he's a dork but he's adorable. Adorkable. I like that word. You would have too. They're getting along well with their digimon too. Especially Mimi and Palmon - I don't think those two are ever apart. They even call each other best friends. Izzy's smart, a quick learner and he can make sense of anything I say. Honestly, I think he's the only one who can keep up with me and Agumon. He's not very talkative but his partner Tentomon does his best to help him socialize. There's Joe - he's pragmatic and cautious. I think you could call him the Team Dad. Gomamon's fun but he's kind of hung up on the whole killing thing. Then there's Matt - he's TK's older brother. He's a good cook and likes to play it cool - but he's got a lot insecurities."

He shifted uncomfortably like he was thinking of something to say, "Oh! And Sora got her crest to work. I have no idea how but she did. She doesn't know how either. It's got me wondering why I couldn't do it. I've been trying to for years but I could never make it work. I wish I knew what I was doing wrong. I wish…you were still here. You could have figured it out."

Tamer paused briefly. It sounded like he stifled a sniffle, "I can't do this. I can't be you! I can't…I'm not you. I wish you were still here. Why did you have to…why did I have to be…"

He stopped again. Mimi tried again to say something but stopped when he continued, "I'm doing my best. That's the same thing I did in the war, isn't it? I tried my best. But I don't think that's enough. If it was, you'd still be here. I can't imagine what you were thinking in the war - but I understand why you did it in the end. I'd have done it too if I went through what you did. After Lucemon, the Four Sovereigns and the Four Masters, the world purge, and the fall of the Bastion - anyone would have done what you did. I just wish I could've talked you out of it. Heck, if Agumon weren't around to talk sense into me…things would have been different. Things are different. But I'll keep trying to get it right. I just wish I could have done the same for you. I'm sorry. This is all my fault."

He paused briefly, bringing a hand to his face and whimpering slightly. A small squeak escaped Mimi as she realized he was crying, but she covered her mouth with her hands. It was almost unthinkable. Tamer was crying. As much as she'd wanted him to stop being such a jerk – she didn't want him to cry. But she also didn't want him to know she was there. He'd have been furious if he found out what she saw, and watched him anxiously. He didn't react and she breathed again once she was certain he didn't hear. Tamer continued, "Sorry. Agumon would never let me live it down if ever found out - so let's keep this between us. Okay?"

His light-hearted joke was met with silence, until he turned to look at Mimi, "Well? Are we going to keep this between us, Mimi?"

She gasped and fell backwards onto the ground. He approached her calmly and helped her to stand, "Mimi, please keep this between us."

"I'm sorry," she started, "I shouldn't have-"

"Yes, you shouldn't have. But what's done is done," he interrupted her with a wave, "Please. Keep everything you heard to yourself."

She nodded quietly and he motioned for her to follow him back to the house. She considered trying to talk to him about it - like she did with Sora. It was obvious that he didn't want to talk about it but she still felt like something had to be said. She mulled it over in her mind - what to say to someone like him. He was old, she understood that. But what do you say to someone like that? It'd be impossible to relate to someone who'd been alive for so long and experienced so much.

The answer finally came to her when they reached the threshold of the manor. She just had to be open and sincere with what she said, "Tamer, I'm sorry. I don't know who you were talking to or what that stone out there is for. But anyone can tell that it was important to you. And I'm sorry for whatever happened to you."

He didn't look back at her but he did stop in his tracks when he heard her speak.

She pressed herself forward to hug him from behind. It seemed like the thing he needed, "I promise I won't tell anyone. I'll keep this to myself. But cheer up, okay? As much as the happy you annoys me, I'd rather have that over the sad one I just saw."

"Thanks," he finally choked out. She released him from the hug and he turned to offer a tearful smile. For the first time since she'd met him, she genuinely thought a smile from him was welcome instead of manic and terrifying. She bid him goodnight and returned to sleep in her futon with Palmon. Her thoughts lingered on if she'd helped him in anyway - she wanted to believe she had. Seeing that side of him was unexpected but endearing in its own special way.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** And we've reached the end of Chapter 18. If you loved it, leave a review to let me know! I usually reply in a day or two. I also welcome constructive criticism and speculation on future chapters! Now here's the deal, some of you may have noticed this chapter was longer than the others. There's a reason for this. I meshed together two separate chapters so I could take a break next week to do some editing and writing for the next arc of the story. The Myotismon arc. Join me in two weeks on March 18, 2016 at 5 PM CST for another rousing chapter of The Tamer! And now for some teasers for next time! Much like last time, these are in no particular order and were pulled randomly from the next chapter!

"You're bravado in the face of death is admirable," Phantomon remarked.

Tamer shrugged, "Who cares? They'll be dead soon. Just make sure they're alive when the fight starts."

At least until one of the Gekomon tackled Sora to the floor, "YOU JERKS!"

"It's not what we did, it's how we did it," TK said glumly, "Did we really have to do it like that?"

"FIGHT!" The two Gazimon said together.


	19. The Coliseum

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Chapter 19, the Coliseum! One more big thanks to all of you who left reviews, favorited, and followed the story. And another big thanks to Ace Spiritwell for creating the cover art for The Tamer. In addition, go check out their deviantart for more of the fanart they've made. It's really well done. And hey, go give their fanfiction a read too! Why not? Now, one more thing going forward: I just wanted to remind you about the darker direction The Tamer is going. This is because, as I've iterated before, the story is completely outlined and will take in the realm of nine years to complete. Since chapter 1, I've been leaving little hints about what's going on and what will happen – both in Adventure and in the overall story.

Now let's start the story.

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 19: The Coliseum**

The Coliseum stood alone against the sandy deserts of the continent of Server as one of its ancient wonders. No one knew who built it or how old it really was, but it served as a testament to their craftsmanship that it lasted as long as it did. And even though those who built it were gone, it was still in use as a large arena by its current owner Myotismon. Today would be the first appearance of Myotismon in over a thousand years, since he'd disappeared from the public eye for a reason no one could remember. Hundreds of digimon arrived to attend the day's event - many by choice, even more against their will. The digimon there by choice stood vigilante to help the guards ensure no one tried to sneak away - Tyrannomon, Gazimon, Monochromon, and a few other dark digimon.

From a safe distance away, the digidestined and their partners gazed out onto the Coliseum, surveying the area. Joe was unnerved by the number of digimon there but retained his resolve enough to ask, "Are you sure this plan will work?"

Agumon noted his anxiety and said, "Don't worry too much about it. Just play your parts and everything will be fine."

It was hard to take comfort when Agumon was painted completely black with body paint, transforming himself into 'BlackAgumon'. During their planning, Tamer emphasized that they'd be killed the moment they got anywhere near the event and would need to blend in. The solution was to disguise themselves - upon which he revealed all the various clothes he'd acquired over his life. Agumon called it a disguise but there was no possible way anyone would fall for any costume he pieced together. Then again, Tamer was standing right beside them dressed in Wizardmon's clothing and a wig of straw-like blonde hair. How he managed to tame his hair under the wig and hat was anyone's guess. Since he was slightly taller than the real Wizardmon, he had to hunch over and walk with a slouch to hide his real height.

While he dressed as Wizardmon and Agumon merely painted himself, the others did not get as lucky with their costumes. Since Tentomon could fly, he got to disguise himself as a Bakemon although it was little more than a bed sheet with holes for eyes. Sora, Biyomon, Joe, and Gomamon were tied up as 'prisoners' caught wandering the desert. Matt, Gabumon, TK, and Izzy wore full-length brown cloaks. Tokomon was too small to bother disguising so he rode atop TK's head while under his hood, making his head appear the size of his body. This was better than Matt who had to carry all of the bags the others couldn't without giving away their costumes. While the weight was manageable, it did make him look bulky under his cloak. Mimi and Palmon were probably the most ludicrous. Mimi found a set of clothes that looked like white versions of Wizardmon's attire - which she playfully donned and started posing in. Meanwhile Palmon was given a set of dreadlocks and Tamer drilled into her to respond to 'ReggaePalmon'. Then again, it was no crazier than being called BlackAgumon. In short, there was no way anyone would fall for their paper-thin disguises.

They had a plan and rehearsed it dozens of times until they each knew their part by heart. Now that they had to carry it out, their feet grew cold. Tamer sensed their hesitation, "Look, we practiced this. Just walk in like you own the place and you'll be fine. Except for you four. You need to act like you don't want to be here."

"Why are we prisoners?" Sora asked.

"Because you can digivolve Biyomon to the Ultimate level. Don't worry, I'll pass you your digivices once we're down in the cells," Tamer said, producing a pair of digivices from within his pocket, "You guys will be fine."

"Yeah! We'll totally have your backs the whole way!" Mimi said excitedly.

"And you keep your mouth shut," Tamer said.

"Rude!" Mimi spat back, lowering her collar enough to stick out her tongue.

"No, seriously! Don't talk," Agumon said, "Wizardmon variant digimon have a formal, refined vocabulary and are very reserved. No one's going to believe your disguise, if you act like you normally do. It's better if you just keep quiet."

"Right, cause that's where this plan will fall apart," Matt said skeptically, although Tamer and Agumon ignored him. Sora, Biyomon, Joe, and Gomamon walked in the center of their formation, with Tamer and Mimi at front while Agumon and Palmon took up the rear. Everyone else split up to flank their prisoners, keeping sure to walk in tight formation. Tamer took one last chance to whisper, "Remember. Keep walking and don't talk to anyone. Let me handle that part."

They walked through the crowd silently, each of them maneuvering to avoid bumping into a digimon - either spectator or guard. It must've been impossible to not stand out like sore thumbs the way they were dressed, especially when a few of the digimon around them started whispering. It was hard to miss the defeated looks on many digimon - indicating they didn't want to witness the day's events. There was almost an acceptance in their eyes, as if they'd simply come to terms with the way things were going to be. The few who did seem excited paused to turn their heads suspiciously, narrowing their eyes as they walked past. As the crowd got thicker, the digimon started moving out of their way to let them through. When they came to the front of the crowd at one of the gates, they were stopped by a floating digimon wearing a silver robe and red hood that concealed its face. It carried a golden scythe over its back and made a display of bringing it forward as it cried, "Halt! What do you think you're doing Wizardmon?"

They tensed up and froze, although it would've been hard to tell under their disguises. The fear still showed on Sora, Biyomon, Joe, and Gomamon; something that helped sell their act. Tamer quickly replied, "Doing my duties to Lord Myotismon. I am to transport these prisoners for the execution."

"Lord Myotismon never told me about this," the digimon replied, "And I am Phantomon! His most loyal servant."

"Lord Myotismon doesn't waste his time on the rabble. And most loyal? That's presumptuous on your part, isn't it Phantomon?" Tamer mocked, taking a step to push past. Phantomon brought his scythe level to Tamer's neck, "Take one more step and die."

"Do it," Tamer locked eyes with Phantomon, "Kill me, if you think you can. You should know that I am not the kind to be defeated so easily. Lord Myotismon doesn't care for his peons, so he probably wouldn't miss one subordinate. Gatomon might take exception though. And you will have to answer to her."

Phantomon pulled back his scythe slightly, angling it just away from Tamer's face, "You always hide behind Myotismon's favorite pet, don't you? Well, you're her favorite anyway."

"My personal relations are none of your concern," Tamer sighed, "Can I count on you to stand down, or will I have to make you?"

"I will. Just one thing. Who are they? I've never seen anything that ugly," Phantomon pointed towards Sora, Biyomon, Joe, and Gomamon. Joe leaned away while Sora and Biyomon shot him a nasty glare, "Who are you calling ugly you creep!"

"Why you!" Phantomon raised his scythe to strike at them but Tamer raised out a hand to stop a fight, "Don't. These humans are prisoners to Lord Myotismon. He wants the whole Digital World to see what happens to those who oppose him. Even the humans. Until then, they go unharmed."

"Humans? As in the digidestined!? When did you-"

"Never you mind!" Tamer snapped, silencing the phantom digimon. After a moment's silence, Phantomon sighed, "Whatever. I wasn't talking about them anyway. I was talking about that, the one that looks like a Palmon."

Palmon immediately took offense to what he'd said and spat back, "Who's ugly? I'm ReggaePalmon and I'm-"

"-a failed experiment that's so helplessly stupid that the only purpose I could think for it is to carry luggage and do the grunt work that no one wants to do," Tamer interrupted while Agumon covered Palmon's mouth, "I was attempting to produce a Palmon with Virus attributes, similar to what I did with BlackAgumon there. Although I think I should've chosen a better method than exposing a Tanemon to-"

"I don't care! I forgot how much you liked talking about your experiments," Phantomon murmured under his breath, grumbling something about brainiacs. Tamer started anxiously tapping his foot on the ground, "Are you going to keep talking or are you going to let us in?"

"Oh, please, do go ahead," Phantomon floated aside, motioning for several guards to do the same. Tamer waved at the others to follow and led them into the coliseum. As they went further in, Phantomon kidded, "By the way, you should make a move on Gatomon already! Everyone already knows you like her!"

Tamer didn't respond and continued walking in silence. Everyone trembled anxiously as they made their way through the inner workings of the Coliseum, doing their best to calm themselves down. It didn't seem possible that they'd gotten by as easily as they had, but it worked. As they walked the darkened halls, Tamer quietly whispered, "Good work. Just stay in character a little longer."

Palmon opened her mouth to protest being interrupted earlier, but stopped when Agumon nudged her. They continued walking through the dark halls, allowing Tamer to guide them past multiple guards and several digimon wandering around in search of concessions. A few digimon who'd never seen humans before casually glanced their way to catch a glimpse of Sora and Joe. They understood they had to be prisoners, but Joe didn't appreciate the sudden attention and panicked as a result, "I don't want to be here anymore. Can we go?"

"You're going to your cell," Agumon stated.

"Can't you just let us go free!? We promise not to tell anyone!" Joe pleaded, only for Sora to shoot him a mean look. She couldn't believe he was losing his nerve now of all times. She was nervous and sweating too, but she wasn't cracking under the pressure, "Come on Joe! Don't tell me you're giving up now!"

"Sora! We're tied up and about to get sent to our deaths! Worse, they have our digivices so it's not like Biyomon and Gomamon can digivolve!" Joe said, stumping Sora. It took her a moment to realize that he'd been playing the part, although she wasn't sure if he planned on doing this or was simply making the best of his own panic. She played along but downplayed her earlier protests, "So you want to give up?"

By now, Biyomon and Gomamon had picked up on what was going on. Gomamon added, "Don't give up yet Joe! Remember the can do spirit back at Koromon Village? What happened to that?"

"It's gone just like Koromon Village!" Joe whimpered back. The noise they were making drew more attention, but helped to sell the fact that they were prisoners to the other digimon there. A few passing Gazimon pointed at them as they past and whispered angrily, wanting to see them get their comeuppance. They were guided past the crowds into the hypogeum, the tunnel system beneath main stadium used to house supplies and prisoners. Their only company this far down were Bakemon gliding through the air and passing through walls hurriedly, shouting to each other about setting up camera equipment and sound systems. It would be a while later before they came to the holding cells at the end of the tunnel. Most of them were empty but the final one held several digimon lying on the floor awaiting their deaths - some Gekomon, Otamamon, a Koromon, and Gotsumon. A few glanced upwards and stared in wide-eyed disbelief at the sight of Sora and Joe.

Standing guard were two robot digimon that resembled mech suits. They had large square frames for bodies with slits at the top for pairs of eyes. Their legs were short and stubby, while their arms were long and wiry. What stood out most were the large glass domes where their heads should've been, from which they could see Bakemon working controls like pilots. Agumon whispered, "Those are Mekanorimon, but they're less digimon and more suits of armor. They can't move or think much independently and usually need someone inside to do anything more advanced than simple commands like walk."

"Halt," one commanded them with a mechanical voice, "Identify!"

"It's Wizardmon," Tamer lied, "I'm dropping off prisoners per Lord Myotismon's instructions."

"Denied! No orders available. Verification required!" the Mekanorimon stated, raising its arms against Tamer, "Prepare to be del-"

"Bakemon, are you going to shut up or do I have to fetch Gatomon to make you do that?" Tamer snapped. The Mekanorimon lowered its arm, "You're no fun."

"Do that again, and I'll be sure to have Myotismon reevaluate your usefulness too," Tamer motioned for them to bring their 'prisoners' forward while the iron barred gate swung open. Agumon and Palmon cut open the ropes and pointed inside while the others turned on the four. As they planned, Gomamon and Biyomon filed in slowly. Tamer feigned annoyance and grabbed Joe and Sora by their collars. In a single swift motion, he slipped their digivices into their pockets before shoving them all inside loudly, "Get in there!"

"That was kind of forceful," the Mekanorimon commented. Tamer shrugged, "Who cares? They'll be dead soon. Just make sure they're alive when the fight starts."

With their backs turned to the others, Tentomon and Gabumon were free to hop atop the Mekanorimon and pry the glass domes open. The Bakemon were startled at first, but were quickly dispatched by Agumon - who moved so quickly it was impossible for them to react. They had vehemently opposed this part of the plan - killing more digimon. But Agumon pointed out they were ghosts and, therefore, were already dead. Worse, there was no way to keep them prisoner since there wasn't really a way to contain anything that could move through solid objects. With them gone, Mimi and Palmon clamored inside the now empty Mekanorimon suits and stared at the controls in awe.

"Are we sure we can trust Mimi with piloting one of these things?" Joe observed from inside the cell. Tamer climbed beside the pilot's seat and pressed a few buttons on the controls, "It's okay. I'm setting it to basic. You remember what I told you?"

"Yeah! Pedals for walking and levers for the arms!" Mimi repeated nervously, daunted by all the brightly colored buttons and flashing lights. Tamer nodded and closed the domes on both of them, "Remember, push that button there to tint the glass. We don't want anyone to see you!"

It took some guesswork from Mimi and Palmon, but the glass tinted gray and they were concealed beneath the opaque color. Tamer offered a thumb up to both of them and motioned to the others to follow him back up stairs. Matt passed Joe his bag and Sora her pack. Tamer looked over everyone of them and cautiously said, "Okay, this is the part were we start splitting up. Before that, I just want to remind you all one last time: if Myotismon shows up, don't listen to a word he says. Any of it! Devimon takes control of others minds and bends them to his will; Etemon prefers to be direct and go on an all out attack. Myotismon gets in your head. He makes you question your goals, fills you with doubt and breaks your spirits. And if he tries to fight you, then run. Remember that and stick to the plan, no matter what happens. Do you understand?"

"Got it," Biyomon and Gomamon agreed. Sora nodded cautiously, watching Tamer guide the others back out of the hypogeum. Like every time before, there was a hint of fear in Tamer's voice when he brought up Myotismon. She wondered how many of the others noticed and worried about them as well. Joe was the only one who appeared unfazed and went about tending to the injured digimon. At least until one of the Gekomon tackled Sora to the floor, "YOU JERKS!"

Sora reeled as she hit the ground and her vision blurred momentarily but the Gekomon continued, "We trusted you! You…you left us! My friends! They're…"

The Gekomon paused briefly, closing his eyes to try and hold back the stream of tears already running down the side of his face. An Otamamon approached, "It doesn't matter. We'll be like them eventually. There's that."

"Not if we have anything to say about it," Sora said, sliding out from under Gekomon to massage her head. Biyomon helped her stand up and told the Otamamon, "We're going to get you guys out of here. So don't worry."

"The last time we put our hope in someone, it was you guys at Koromon Village. And we know how that turned out," the Gekomon said bitterly, opening his eyes to scowl, "So why should we trust you this time? How do we know you won't run out on us like before?"

Sora fell silent but tried to think of something to say in answer. The one thing that never came up while they were planning was the possibility that the digimon didn't want to be saved. At least, not by them. Gekomon leered straight at Sora, ready to counter any answer she could think to give. What would Tamer or Agumon say to the Gekomon?

"It doesn't look like you have any broken bones. That injury does need to be dressed," she heard Joe say to one of the Otamamon while he examined its arm, "It's a miracle it didn't get infected. This is going to sting when I use it though, but it will help clean the wound."

Joe poured some alcohol on the injury and Otamamon winced in pain, pulling its arm back in response. The boy kept his grip on the little digimon and began dressing it with bandages, "Alright, that's should keep it clean until the injury heals on its own."

"We're here now, aren't we?" Sora said to the Gekomon, "And we promise that we're not going abandon you guys. We'll get you all out of here and back with your friends."

The Gekomon remained unimpressed and continued to glare quietly.

* * *

Izzy, Matt, TK, Gabumon, Tokomon, and Tentomon broke away from Tamer as soon as they got back to the main floor to carry out their part of the plan. Izzy had the entire route memorized by heart and guided the others up to the press booth - a modern addition that was oddly out of place in the ancient building. On the far end was a large floor to ceiling glass window through which the entire arena below could be seen. Before it was a wooden desk with two microphones and a pair of chairs facing away from the window. Several Gazimon were working on three cameras, making adjustments as they needed for lighting and angles. Another manned a computer that connected the cameras to the jumbo screens outside, as well as remote broadcasts. The Gazimon stopped momentarily when they entered, "HEY! Who the hell are you? No one's supposed to be up here!"

Gabumon and Matt rushed the first two Gazimon, tackling them to the ground. Tentomon threw off his sheet and shouted, "Electroshocker!"

It took some concentration to guide the wave of electricity to only the Gazimon. They twitched and jerked as the current danced through their bodies and they collapsed to the ground, unconscious. TK and Tokomon took out the ropes tucked inside Izzy's bag and used them to start typing up the remaining digimon. Killing the Bakemon was unavoidable, but there was no reason any other digimon had to die. Tentomon helped tie the rest of them down while Izzy went ahead to plug his laptop into one of the computers. Gabumon locked the door behind them and Matt dragged the two Gazimon into the chairs, "You two sit here and don't move, got it?"

The two Gazimon were too scared to do anything, but nodded. Seeing that worry in their eyes, Matt couldn't help but wonder if this was how Tamer got his reputation as a monster. He didn't want to become that, so he assured them, "We're not going to kill you guys. Just do as your told, and we'll let you go when we're done here."

He was trying to comfort the Gazimon, but their shakes told him it had the opposite effect. He sighed and tried again by offering them a gentle smile, which helped them relax a little. Izzy was already working on his laptop, typing away furiously and quietly repeating the instructions to himself while also mumbling about the coding of the computers, "It's more or less exactly like the hieroglyphs from the tunnel and pyramid and the temple. The order is different, but each line provides a different set of commands and conditions. If only I had more time to study them."

"Izzy, don't forget the plan," Tentomon reminded his partner. He and Gabumon were moving the captive Gazimon into a corner of the room and gagging their mouths shut. TK looked at the helpless digimon and felt sick to his stomach, "Hey, is this right? I feel like we're bad guys."

"It's not like we want to and it's not like we're enjoying this," Matt said sheepishly, "But we have to if we want to get home. We'll let them go when we're ready."

"It still feels wrong though," TK frowned, and looked at his own hands like he'd done something terrible. Matt patted his little brother, "You don't have to do anymore if you don't want to, okay? I'll do enough work for the both of us."

He turned at the two Gazimon, "Here's what's going to happen. You guys will do the broadcast like normal, got it? Don't try anything funny. When we do our thing, we'll let you guys go. And just a word of advice in case you think of trying anything funny: Tamer and Agumon are here too. So just work with us, okay?"

The two Gazimon gulped but managed to answer simultaneously, "Sure."

* * *

In another part of the Coliseum, Tamer and Agumon made their way to a large room on the opposite side of the arena. There were no guards here because there was no one to guard. All of the digimon here were going to participate in the gladiatorial battle willingly. This may have been an execution, but there was no reason it couldn't be entertaining for the digimon who wanted to be there. Of course, Tamer and Agumon knowingly left this part out of the planning phase. The others still seemed hesitant to do what needed to be done, so he trusted them with jobs that didn't demand them to do or see much killing. If they knew what was about to happen - they might have said no right off the bat. But the fact was, these digimon knew what they were planning on doing. For the Tamer and Agumon, those who were ready _to kill_ should be ready _to be killed_.

The pair of them strode in casually, still in disguise where they were met by a towering Greymon and Tyrannomon. The Tyrannomon wore chains around his wrists and the Greymon had a broken collar, part of a motif the two digimon had as part of their team name - 'The Unchained'. The two eyed them suspiciously, especially the one looking at Tamer, "What are you doing here Wizardmon? Shouldn't you be licking Gatomon's boots?"

Tamer made sure to close the large doors behind him and Agumon before answering, "She doesn't wear boots. I'd be more worried about Agumon, though. Quick and quiet, right?"

Tamer glanced sideways at his partner who nodded the affirmation. Greymon bared his claws angrily, "Don't you mean BlackAgumon?"

"No, I don't," Tamer said calmly, before raising his digivice. It flashed a bright light that blinded the two giant digimon and Agumon cried, "Agumon! Digivolve to! Greymon!"

The battle was over as quickly as it started. The two digimon had numbers, but Greymon had years of experience. It wasn't even a fair fight for them. The two digimon were quickly dispatched, leaving only clouds of data and their chains. Greymon quickly donned the collar, "Okay, we're good."

"Alright, now we wait!" Tamer said anxiously.

* * *

The coliseum was nearly full of digimon packed into the sears, following the signs to find their assigned area and rows. Many chatted excitedly while other shifted nervously at the 'sport' they were about to watch, filling the air with a curious mix of anxiety and cheer. The speakers came to life with noise and the crowd roared. Several large screens around the stadiums turned on to display a pair of Gazimon sitting at a desk, "Welcome Digimon to 'Myotismon's Games'! It's a lovely day today! Perfect weather for a match up!"

"Truer words were never said," the second Gazimon answered, "We have a lot of excitement today, just look at all these digimon ready to see some action!"

The two Gazimon moved aside to stare out the window at the crowd of digimon below. The first Gazimon continued, "For those just joining us or who still don't know, Master Etemon destroyed Koromon Village for harboring the Digidestined and their digimon."

"That's right and a few of them even got away! Or so they thought," the second countered, "Well, Lord Myotismon doesn't tolerate traitors or enemies very well. Today is a special day for those who serve him because they get a show. For those who don't, this is a reminder!"

There was a certain glee with which the second Gazimon said that which made many digimon nervous. The first continued, "And now! A special announcement from our Lord Myotismon!"

The jumbo screens momentarily went black, then displayed an image of a pale skinned man with flowing blond hair dressed in a fitted regal blue attire, with matching black gloves and boots. Over it was a long, torn black cape line with red velvet that flowed behind him as it moved. Across his face was a long red mask that stretched from at the sides and pointed upwards like a pair of bat like wings. As he spoke, a pair of fang like teeth bared themselves, "Greetings my fellow digimon! I am your lord, Myotismon! Today is a grand day for all of you loyal servants, a commemoration and reward for your loyal service and a warning to those who oppose me! I choose this day to make an important announcement."

Myotismon paused briefly to let the crowd fall silent, "The gate that has been activated and soon, we will spread our reach out to the other worlds in service to our Masters!"

There was a loud cheer from half the audience, while the others sank deeper into their own despair. Finally Myotismon said, "We hold these games to honor that glorious duty to our Masters! And to reward the faithful! Let the games begin!"

The screen switched back to the two Gazimon smiling gleefully, "We're ready to get things going! If you look on down to the visitor's gate, you can see the digimon from Koromon Village."

"I heard Koromon Village was under the Digimon Tamer's and Agumon's protection. So much for that, right?" the second Gazimon laughed. On the far side of the arena, several injured digimon limped out onto the field wearing bandages and frowns. Behind them were two humans and a pair of digimon who looked a little worse for wear, but not as bad as the other did. The crowd filled boos as the first Gazimon added, "And as you can see, we have a special treat! Two digidestined and their digimon partners who were caught wandering aimlessly in the desert by our very own Wizardmon! But who cares about these guys? We all know who we want to see! Our reigning champions! The Unchained! Greymon and Tyrannomon!"

Thunderous stomps could be heard from the entrance opposite side of the arena as the second Gazimon went on, "These two are our reigning champs here at the Coliseum with a running score of eighty five consecutive wins and zero losses! These guys are the strongest! They don't show mercy! They can't be beaten! And boy are those suckers from Koromon Village in for a-"

"SURPRISE!" shouted Wizardmon as he strolled out into the arena alongside Greymon, causing uproar to go through the audience. Many were upset that they would get to see the 'Unchained' pair fight. Even more were terrified of whatever Wizardmon would do - his reputation within Myotismon's army wasn't anything to fear as a physical fighter. It was the joy he derived from mocking his enemies that was cause for concern. Even more so now that he was here, "Sorry for the last minute switch up! Tyrannomon has an upset stomach - too many of those spicy burritos! I'll be stepping in for him while he throws up. Although this will be good for my research."

Wizardmon produced a notepad and a pencil from within his cloak and started writing on it. The two Gazimon looked dumbstruck, turning in their seats to look out the window as if to confirm that this was happening. Wizardmon continued casually strolling towards the prisoners on the opposite side of the arena with Greymon following excitedly behind him. The two Gazimon retained their composures and continued, "Oh…um, I guess that happened and nobody told us. Anyway, the combatants are moving into position!"

Wizardmon and Greymon stopped at the center of the arena. The survivors of Koromon Village cowered by their entrance but were unable to retreat any further without the Mekanorimon pushing them back. The two digidestined and their partners were the only ones brave enough to meet their opponents at the center of the arena. Half of the crowd roared excitedly, the other half looked on in fear - afraid to intervene with many of Myotismon's stronger digimon present to watch.

"Ready?" said the first Gazimon calmly. Wizardmon and Greymon assumed a fighting stance.

"Get set," said the second Gazimon, more excitedly. The two digidestined and their partners continued to stare blankly at Wizardmon and Greymon. Perhaps they were trying to psyche the two out. More likely, they'd given up and were waiting to be killed.

"FIGHT!" The two Gazimon said together. The screen cut to a camera showing the six combatants. Greymon brought his fist crashing into the ground below. The two digimon scattered, and their human partners tumbled away. The crowd roared its approval, half for Greymon's blood lust and half that the digidestined survived. The seal digimon tried to tackle the large dinosaur but bounced away harmlessly. The bird created a gust of wind, "Spiral Twister!"

Greymon barely reacted to the wind and flicked the bird aside. Her partner, a human girl, rushed Wizardmon, "Leave Biyomon alone!"

She swept his leg with swift kick, and Wizardmon fell on his side while she shouted, "Try years of soccer practice, jerk!"

Before she could kick him again, Wizardmon rolled away and jumped back up. He giggled happily while writing on his notepad, murmuring about data for research. Then, with a sudden and unexpected burst of speed, Wizardmon leapt forward and used his arm like a hook to grab the girl by her torso. He turned his body slightly to throw her into the boy, sending the two to ground and rolling away. The crowd roared its approval, some commenting that the children were useless without their digivices while others mused at how underwhelmed they were by the digidestined.

The six of them fought, going back and forth against each other. It didn't take long for the crowd to realize that Greymon and Wizardmon were simply toying with their opponents - allowing the four to tire themselves out before actually trying to do anything. The girl kept trying to kick Wizardmon and knock him off balance, but he either moved out of the way or used her momentum to throw her aside. Usually at Biyomon, Gomamon, or the boy. Half of the crowd roared their laughter each time.

During one of the throws, the girl crash into the boy and the pair landed on the far side of the stadium. There was a faint glow beneath the dust and dirt, and the boy dusted it aside to reveal a floor of concrete bricks beneath the layer of dust. Upon one of the bricks was a symbol for a cross illuminated in dull gray light. He sat up right away and retrieved a necklace from within his shirt, holding it out at arm's length. The brick shifted out of its place in the sand and floated level with the boy. From there, it shrank down to a small flat crystalline square and disappeared into his necklace. Half of the crowd booed and growled as the boy tucked the necklace away, annoyed that the little display interrupted the fight. Even Greymon and Wizardmon stared in utter disbelief.

With the two of them distracted, the girl took this chance to charge straight at Wizardmon, and was promptly tossed aside into the bird digimon. Despite all the throws, she didn't seem to have a scratch on her. Wizardmon looked at her expectantly and nodded, as if inviting her to come and try again. She charged at him one more time and he ran full speed at her. It didn't seem possible, but she managed to trip him up and he rolled to the other end of the stadium beside the other prisoners who'd been standing silently. One of the Mekanorimon rushed to help him back up but he swatted its hand aside, "Get off me. I don't need your help."

The girl tried to catch her breath while their two digimon partner continued to try and harm Greymon. Wizardmon looked at her and she stared back at him. The fact that she'd gotten the drop on him was more than a sore spot for Wizardmon and it showed in his trembling fists. He growled, "Finish it."

"Nova Flame!"

"Twin Beam!"

The crowd roared excitedly when the flames crackled in Greymon's mouth before he spat out it as a large ball of fire. The red crystals on the Mekanorimon started glowing too, firing out beams of red energy. It took the crowd a moment to realize that the attacks were angled up into the seating area. By the time they realized this, Greymon and the Mekanorimon already fired into the crowd several times. The cheers were replaced with screams and the air of mixed feelings became one of confusion. The digimon who didn't want to be here saw their opportunity to flee and ran. Those who wanted to be here started shouting at them to watch their aim. A few looked at the areas that were hit and realized those stands were filled with members of Myotismon's army. The ones who realized this, scrambled for the arena and shouted at others to follow.

The cameras that zoomed in on the battle adjusted to focus on Greymon now firing at the ground around him while Wizardmon motioned to the others to follow him. The survivors of Koromon Village, the Mekanorimon, the digidestined and their partner all gather under Greymon as he breathed one last ball of fire. The blasts kicked up a screen of dirt and smoke that obscured the arena enough to make it impossible to see. From the stands, a faint glow of red light permeated the dust cloud and kicked it away with a blast of wind that knocked many on to their feet.

"Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

"Birdramon! Digivolve to! Garudamon!"

The dust cleared to reveal the ultimate level digimon standing in the center of the stadium carrying the boy and girl, plus a new girl, Gomamon, a Palmon in a wig, and the survivors of Koromon Village. Standing at her base were Wizardmon, Greymon, and the Mekanorimon left abandoned with no pilots in their suits. Wizardmon motioned to Garudamon and she took off into the air with a flap of her wings.

"GET THEM! AND THE TRAITORS!" a Gazimon screamed as they charged at Wizardmon and Greymon. Garudamon was already well above their reach, so the Tyrannomon on the ground and several Mekanorimon started firing at her with their lasers and fire breath. Garudamon may have been fast, but her large size and the number of attacks were something even she had trouble dodging - especially with everyone she was holding.

Greymon stomped the ground and ripped off his collar, throwing it at the nearest Tyrannomon with enough force to knock it back into the stands. Wizardmon ran out and shouted, "Why are you all shooting at her? You're real target's right here!"

Wizardmon ripped off his hat and blonde wig to reveal fiery brown hair, while Greymon ripped off his collar. The Tamer and Greymon standing in broad daylight in front of them. The sight drew the attacking digimon to a stand still. The jumbo screens showed every camera now panning in on his face as he said, "What's the matter? Scared? That's fine. Point your weapons, bare your fangs and expose your claws if it'll help you guys relax!"

They did just that. Mekanorimon pointed their arm cannons at the pair, the surrounding Gazimon and Tyrannomon extended the razor sharp claws, and Phantomon appeared with his scythe clutched tight in both arms. The pair laughed with amusement, glancing upwards to make sure Garudamon was unharmed. Once she was clear out of sight, Greymon asked, "So, who wants to go first?"

* * *

From the press box, Matt watched Garudamon fly up and out of the coliseum, but kept the camera he worked angled squarely at Greymon and Tamer. Once she disappeared, Matt said to Izzy, "They're gone. Get the ceiling!"

"On it," Izzy said, tapping away at his laptop and entering the lines of code Tamer provided for him. Matt's heartbeat nervously with each furious keystroke, as he looked down into the arena. Greymon and Tamer were surrounded, but this didn't stop them from taking the time to mock their enemies. Greymon's voice boomed, "Come on? Seriously? We're right here! I'm even a big old target for you guys to shoot! No one wants to go first?"

"Seriously guys. Your Lord Myotismon is watching this, isn't he? If you're trying to make a good impression, now would seriously be the time!" Tamer jeered them. He didn't know how those two could be so casual in the face of their own deaths. They were completely surrounded and their only chance of escape hinged on Izzy. Izzy was typing as fast as he could and Tamer was obviously long winded, but eventually one of those digimon would attack.

"Izzy," Matt said nervously.

"Almost," Izzy mumbled, typing even faster. A few more seconds later, the metallic ceiling of the coliseum started moving - an odd addition that seemed out of place for such an old building. With a few more key presses, Izzy was able to kill electricity to everything except the motors moving the roof. He nodded to Matt, "Okay, we're good. Time for us to go."

"Am I the only one who can't believe this is working?" Gabumon asked. Matt shook his head, then turned on the two Gazimon hosts, "You guys can untie your friends once we leave. Got it?"

The two nodded and waited patiently for the intruders to leave. Izzy took the longest to pack since he had to unhook his laptop before Tentomon fried the computers - they didn't want anyone to reopen the ceiling. Although why Tamer and Greymon were so insistent on covering the arena in darkness was anyone's guess. Izzy made sure to grab Tentomon's bed sheet and helped the bug digimon adjust it properly so he could move freely in it.

Matt slammed the door shut behind them and they raced down the hall into the mess of digimon trying to flee while others continued to rush into the arena. Everyone adjusted their cloaks and hoods with intention of slipping out unnoticed in the confusion. Matt took hold of his little brother's hand, "Stay close, okay buddy? We'll make it out."

TK nodded and squeezed his older brother's hand. Together, the group made their way through the crowd and out back into the desert. A nearby screen showed Phantomon descending into the arena, "You must be incredibly stupid to come out here like this."

"And you must be incredibly terrified to be hiding behind your digimon," Greymon's voice boomed. Phantomon received the taunt with aplomb, "Just wanted to keep my hands clean. Get them!"

They didn't linger long enough to see what happened next, continuing out into the open desert where many digimon were fleeing further into the desert, while others stopped to figure out what was going on. From what they could tell, most of the digimon outside were the ones who didn't want to be here and many were already planning on getting as far as they could. Izzy brought out his digivice and looked to his partner, "Okay, now we make our escape. Tentomon?"

His partner nodded and digivolved to his next stage, "Tentomon! Digivolve to! Kabuterimon!"

The sudden and unexpected appearance of a large blue insect startled many of the fleeing digimon, long enough for Kabuterimon to scoop up the others and fly off into the desert. The rapid beat of his wings scattered dust and sand all over the place. Matt whipped his head back once for any sign of either Tamer or Greymon. They should have been making their escape by now, so where were they?

* * *

In the center of the arena, Tamer and Greymon stared out into the surrounding horde of digimon - all ready to attack but not ready to go first. Tamer paced around Greymon impatiently, looking into the eyes of each digimon and watching their intense gaze break apart under his eye, "Come on! It's been about…I don't know, three minutes since he said 'Get them'. Well, we're still waiting. Wait. When he said 'get them', did he mean something like get them their sodas or get them some chairs? Because I could really go for a sit."

"You're bravado in the face of death is admirable," Phantomon remarked.

"The fact that you're still standing there waiting for someone else to go first is laughable," Tamer shot back, "Come on, Etemon's guys put up a bigger fight than this."

"Etemon went AWOL," Phantomon hissed, "We've heard nothing for days. Most likely, he's gone back to his stupid music."

"Or he's dead," Greymon growled, startling a few of the digimon for a moment. They regained their composure and one of the Gazimon cried, "You're lying!"

"Are we?" Tamer rounded on that Gazimon, walking straight up to it, "Look me in the eye and say it to my face."

The Gazimon hesitated nervously, his eyes darting to some of the other digimon for support. Tamer smiled and returned to Greymon, "Thought so. If you guys aren't going to do anything, then we'll just be on our way."

"Leaving so soon, you two?"

The familiar voice had both Tamer and Greymon pausing to look around. The roof to the arena closed a while ago, shrouding the arena in darkness. It was still light enough to see a few feet in front of them but dark enough that anything beyond was simply black. It was impossible to tell where the voice came from as it echoed through the arena but it was unmistakably the voice of Myotismon. The other digimon looked around nervously and started backing away from Tamer and Greymon. The pair cursed their luck, but knew this was a risk.

"Yeah, that is kind of our thing," Tamer said into the darkness, "Look at us! We're cowards!"

"I know that very well. After all, you've been running for a long time. So fast and so far. What could you be running from? Or perhaps, what are you running towards? You came here to rescue the prisoners from Koromon Village and you brought the digidestined with you. Like heroes answering the call. Yet their movements and actions were well so coordinated - soldiers for battle, and you two led the way. Missing the thrill of war are we?" Myotismon's voice suggested. Tamer and Greymon did their best to ignore his comments. The big orange dinosaur lowered his head to let Tamer on, while the boy answered, "You really like to hear yourself talk don't you?"

"That may be so, but I am not the one making children fight a war," Myotismon's voice echoed, "But this isn't anything new for you. I wonder how will you react when they die? You've seen so many die so pointlessly. How will this shake you?"

"Oh, are people dying? Sorry, it's kind of hard to tell since we're in a coliseum. If anything, it'd weird if people weren't dying," Tamer joked back, making Greymon nervous. He was trying to mock Myotismon, but it was Myotismon who did the mocking, "I see you still play the fool. No one can be as stupid as you two try to present yourselves. Why do you think they don't attack? Because they're afraid of you? Or because I commanded them not to? Although, perhaps the only one you're fooling is yourself _Digimon Tamer_. If that is your name."

Greymon looked at his partner cautiously. His partner had fallen completely silent, staring out into the dark without reaction. He worried that his partner might have come to some horrific realization and tried to snap him out of it, "Tamer, don't listen to him."

"Were you guys saying something?" Tamer answered with a blink, "Sorry, I was miles away. Got a song stuck in my head."

Greymon breathed a sigh of relief. Myotismon hadn't gotten in his head. At least, that's how he was playing it. He knew his partner better than anyone and, although Tamer knew how to play games with people's heads, it was obvious that he was a little shaken.

"Your sarcasm and mockery are just another form of running away. We all know why. The Digimon Tamer. Digimon Tamer. Tamer. The name you wear like a _hero_. But it's not a hero's name is it? Do you want to know another word for tamer? Trainer, as in one who trains and domesticates; he who breaks the will of others and brings them into line. Is that the name you give a hero or a slave driver?" Myotismon's voice echoed in the dark, "I wonder what your best friend thinks?"

"I think you're the one with an army that's afraid of you," Greymon countered.

"And they're even more afraid of you!" Myotismon added, "They're all afraid of you. Everyone who knows the truth chooses to stand against you. Is that why you don't tell the digidestined the truth? What is it that you told them about the crests? Wizardmon tell me that you 'lost' them. HA! And how did you explain finding them? Happenstance, perhaps? You don't know how you kept running into them, you just did? How many lies have you spun to preserve 'what has to happen'? You've protected the light by shrouding it with lies. Well, let me break that web of lies with a truth of my own: we've found our way to the human world. I'm amassing my armies to march there now. In one week, the human world will burn."

"You're bluffing," Tamer replied quickly, "You wouldn't take a detour on that scale! You'll destroy everything."

Greymon watched his partner carefully, worried he may do something he'd regret. Myotismon laughed, "Does it matter? You've created so many lies that you've blanketed the light in darkness. As far as I care, I've already won. We're just not there _yet_."

"The light shines truth on everything," Tamer stated, "On everyone who looks at it. Everyone talks about gazing into the abyss, and the abyss looking back. No one ever talks about looking into the light - because digimon like you blink. Repeatedly."

"As did you. You gazed into the light, and we know what that did to you. Yet you still cling to that light as though it needs protection. You two struggle to preserve something that's already been lost," Myotismon's voice echoed. Tamer nodded his agreement, "Yeah. That's true. But there's a reason why that light is worth protecting. It's safe and warm. Also, it's very blinding."

Tamer raised out his digivice and Greymon knew to cover his eyes. The light pierced the dark and momentarily staggered the surrounding digimon. Greymon took his cue and charged straight through the crowd. It was dark, but they still knew the layout of the arena by heart and it was easy to maneuver around the blinded digimon. As they ran, Myotismon's voice echoed, "Run you two. As you always have."

* * *

Kabuterimon joined with the others at a desert oasis some ten miles to the east. A lush verdant paradise with a small lake for them to rest. With his speed, it didn't take them long to catch up and Sora was the first to greet them, "You guys are alright!"

"The plan was successfully completed without complication on our part," Izzy said to her, "Although we were unable to do anything for either Tamer or Greymon. Their escape was a separate part of the plan."

Izzy glanced behind her to see the others. Garudamon sat down with her wings spread wide to create some shade for the digimon. Joe looked over the digimon again, better able to see their injuries in broad daylight and was assisted by Gomamon who occasionally passed him things from his bag. Palmon looked over to Izzy and took off her wig, "I hope those guys catch up soon. I'm starting to wilt in this heat and this wig's not helping."

"The same with these clothes," Mimi said, adjusting the collar and hat so that she could breath, "It's so hot in this, I think I'm going to pass out."

"Well why not change back into your normal clothes? You can even hide behind Garudamon's wing," Sora suggested helpfully. Mimi simply undid the collar of her cloak and threw off the hat, "I'll be fine once we get to wherever we're going."

Kabuterimon hesitantly glanced back in the direction of the Coliseum, "Hopefully those two don't take too long. Have you figured out how to make your crest work yet Sora?"

"Not really," Sora admitted sheepishly, "I don't even know how it activated back in the arena. As soon as they all started running into the field, the crest just activated on its own. Garudamon, did you feel anything?"

"Perhaps its an automated self defense mechanism?" Izzy mused curiously, beginning an excited rant on possible causes for the crest's activation. TK and Tokomon ignored the computer whiz, mostly because they couldn't understand a word he was saying, to check with Sora, "Sora, are you and Joe okay? You guys looked like you were hurt pretty bad."

"Yeah, we're fine," Sora nodded, massaging a few places that ached. Tamer had been helping her practice how to roll out of a throw safely. While she wasn't perfect, she was able to cushion the impact for most of them and Tamer had been light on a majority of his tosses. And when she looked too tired to catch herself, Tamer made sure to throw her at someone who could ease her out of it. It seemed like she was being thrown around, but what the two of them were actually doing was examining the crowd for key target areas. The fighting was just dramatic repositioning in the arena to get a good look at each spot in the seats. Whenever Sora closed the distance, she quickly whispered a safe area to hit and Tamer jotted it down on his note pad. During the last throw, he handed the notes to Mimi when she tried to help him up as Mekanorimon - then claimed he didn't want help so no one would notice her looking at all the target spots. They'd only hit areas with Myotismon's supporters, and wanted to focus on confusing them rather than killing them.

Joe checked her injuries, as well his own although anything he had was minor by comparison. Tokomon assured the little boy, "Don't worry! Sora's strong! She can take anything!"

"If you say so, I still feel like we did something bad," TK admitted sheepishly. Matt consoled his little brother, "Don't say that little guy. We saved some digimon. How could that be bad?"

"It's not what we did, it's how we did it," TK said glumly, "Did we really have to do it like that?"

The question left everyone uncomfortable. They had been a little forceful in how they carried out the plan, but they saved innocent digimon in the process. Matt, Izzy, Tentomon, and Gabumon understood what TK meant better than everyone else. The look on the Gazimon faces when they barged in, taking the entire room hostage, and forcing them to cooperate. Mimi cocked her head to the side in confusion, "If it saved these guys, then I don't see the problem. Besides, Joe has his crest now! Good for you Joe!"

"Thanks!" Joe held out his tag happily, "And with this, I guess we have seven!"

"If you guys are just going to sit around and talk, then I'm leaving," the protesting Gekomon grumbled, marching off into the desert. Some of the rescued digimon went to follow but stopped when Joe ran in front of them, "You guys can't go off on your own! You'll never make it in the desert. Not on your own and with those injuries"

"That's our choice to make. And I'll take my chances," the Gotsumon frowned, "It's better than getting abandoned like at Koromon Village."

"We're sorry about your friends Gekomon. It's not like we wanted to abandon them! We wanted to save them! We really did! And when we couldn't…" Mimi's apology trailed off. Bringing it up only made her remember the faces of all the digimon they'd left behind, and the looks of abandonment they gave. And how quickly the village turned into a great big hole in the ground.

"Yeah, you wanted to save them! That's why you guys ran away and kept on running when Etemon blew it up!" Gekomon growled at Mimi, pushing her back. Palmon jumped between the two, ready to attack, "Hey! Don't push her! She was just trying to apologize."

"I don't want your apologies," Gekomon growled.

"What's your deal? We busted our butts and put ourselves in danger to rescue you guys," Matt argued with the Gekomon. The green lizard rounded on Matt, "What? Do you want me to say thank you? Well thanks! Thanks for letting my home get destroyed and my friends killed! Thanks for abandoning us when we needed you! Thanks for acting like what you did today could ever make what happened right!"

In the distance, they could hear a large explosion back at the coliseum. Everyone turned to look back and saw the smoke rising in the distance. Gabumon frowned, "Things really do just blow up wherever they go."

It would be a while longer before both Tamer and Agumon rejoined them. In that time, Mimi finally snapped and switched out of her disguise into her normal clothes, although she went behind Garudamon to avoid being seen. She breathed a sigh and professed how much more comfortable here clothes were in this weather. When the duo showed up, they looked a little shaken but no worse for wear. Izzy greeted them first, "You guys made it! What happened back there? What did Myotismon want?"

"Myotismon was there?" a few of the Koromon villagers asked nervously. Tamer washed his face in the water and answered, "Yeah. Garudamon! Kabuterimon! Can you guys carry us as fast as you can to ShogunGekomon's palace? We have to drop these guys off!"

"Yeah, we can do that," Garudamon nodded, "But what's the rush?"

"Myotismon has moved up his plan. He's going to attack your world in one week," Agumon said quietly, triggering a stunned silence among the digidestined. Tamer finished washing his face and threw off his Wizardmon cloak, "Do you have clothes, Matt?"  
Matt nodded and produced a bag for him. Tamer changed behind Garudamon's wing and explained, "That means we have to move up our plan. Drop off the digimon and head for Myotismon's palace."

"Is this a good idea?" Izzy asked, "After all the times you guys told us to run away if we see him? We still don't even have the crests working!"

Agumon shrugged, "Eh, we'll wing it. That's what we do best!"

His attempt at renewing their confidence in him blew up in his face. Myotismon was going to invade their world in one week, and they had no plan. Without the crests all working would anything they do be enough to stop the digimon that put fear in Tamer and Agumon?

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** And we've reached the conclusion of Chapter 19! If you loved it, leave a review to let me know! I usually reply in a day or two, unless it's a guest review – then I'll reply in the next chapter's author's notes. I also welcome constructive criticism and speculation on the next chapter! Join me next Friday, March 25th at 5:00 PM CST for the next update. And now for lines from the next chapter!

"I will accomplish my mission directives until you return," Andromon nodded silently.

"That's ShogunGekomon's Palace!?" Mimi squealed.

Tamer finally sighed and spoke up, "You're scared. That's fine. Everyone's scared."

"This room was meant for his back up vocals, not ShogunGekomon himself," Andromon explained.

"I'm going to sing," Mimi smiled.


	20. ButterFly Wings

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hey folks! Welcome to Chapter 20 of the Tamer! Another big thanks to everyone who followed and favorited the story! I'm glad you guys like it! And an even bigger thanks to those who left reviews! Special mention goes to Ace Spiritwell for making the cover art. Definitely go to their profile and read their fanfiction. And why not give their deviantart account a glimpse too? Just a special mention, this chapter contains lyrics from a fan interpretation of Butter-fly, the Digimon Adventure theme tune, as performed by Sapphire. Give her some much needed love and support because her music rocks. And, when we get to that part of the story, listen to her song. It's on youtube for free and amazon for a modest fee! So, let's start Chapter 20 - Butterfly Wings.

 **Update:** Fixed a Formatting Issue.

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 20: Butterfly Wings**

"That's ShogunGekomon's Palace!?" Mimi squealed, "It's beautiful! Why have we never come here before!?"

"Because it's boring," Tamer answered to them. They had no idea how he could say it with such a straight face, although he was probably tired from the two day trek it took them to get there. The castle followed traditional Japanese architecture, a wooden edifice bleached white with a tiled roof. Although castle didn't seem like the correct word. Fortress appeared more appropriate, as it situated itself atop a large hill at the edge of a peninsular outcropping, surrounding it with water on three sides and a small sliver of land connecting it to shore. Several towers stretched skyward from within the palace walls, as if to reach out and claim the sky as its own. This helped the dominating presence the castle had.

Several digimon camped along peninsula; pitched tents circled around several campfires with a few stationed at the mouth to stand guard. All were Gekomon who looked tired beyond belief, barely struggling to keep themselves awake and using the spears they carried to support themselves. As they drew closer, it become apparent that they were dazed from fatigue but their demeanor changed when they saw them approaching.

"You're alive!" the Gekomon's tone carried disbelief.

"Yeah, no thanks to them," the embittered Gekomon they'd rescued earlier grumbled. None of the digidestined or their digimon argued the point with this Gekomon anymore. It was a lost cause for everyone.

"What happened to you guys? We lost sight of you after Koromon Village blew up," the other Gekomon guard asked.

"We were captured and sentenced to be executed at Myotismon's coliseum. We'd be dead if they hadn't shown up to rescue us," one of the Otamamon answered for them. The grumpy Gekomon made no effort to deny this and simply looked away, as if to admire the ocean. The first guard nodded, "Well, it's good to see you're alright. All of you."

"Boy! I'm happy to see you guys made it too," TK said brightly, almost relieved. Neither Gekomon reacted, but motioned inside, "Head on in. Andromon is making rounds to make sure everything's in order."

They nodded their thanks and continued into the castle. As they passed through the campsite, they saw it consisted entirely of Gekomon and Otamamon. The mood was somber and silent, but notably lighter hearted than it was at Koromon Village. The digimon here were smiling and seemed contented, happily conversing amongst themselves while they stood watch at the only location where the palace could be attacked. The hill was steep and jagged, lined with sharp rocks made slippery from the tides crashing against it. The only safe path was a steep and narrow staircase that required them to climb one at a time to avoid sliding off.

When they crossed the threshold into the entrance hall, they were greeted with lavish decorations of European design that was out of place within the traditional Japanese building: Polished marble floors lined with felt carpet, silk curtains lining the stain glass windows, furnishings of pottery, a golden chandelier hanging overhead and hundreds of oil paintings covering the brightly colored walls. Only the presence of many displaced digimon living in the hall tarnished the air of wealth.

"Oh WOW! This is my dream house!" Mimi declared as she took in the sight before her, spinning in place to take in each angle of the large entry hall, "I wonder if they have balls and dances? Ooh! I want to stay here as long as we can!"

"Mimi, you're making a scene!" Joe chastised her, nervously glancing at the digimon looking to better view the commotion. Koromon, Gekomon, Otamamon, Gotsumon, Frigimon, and a few others they didn't recognize. The digidestined and their digimon were ignored though, as the attention of the crowd moved to the rescued survivors. There was a rush of greetings and relieved reunions as the separated digimon were happy to see each other again. The joy subsided to sorrow when they learned of other digimon who weren't here - the reason being obvious. The mood silenced when Andromon appeared at the top of the staircase. On sight, he stomped down the stairs to greet them, "Agumon! Digimon Tamer! I am glad to see that you are alright."

"We're just happy to see you all made it," Agumon greeted him back.

"Not all of us," the grumpy Gekomon commented. The other digimon who survived Koromon Village frowned, casting their eyes downward glumly. Andromon's expression was completely unreadable but he continued, "It is regrettable that as many digimon perished that way."

"Hey, you'll see them again, right?" Mimi said, trying to be encouraging, "After all, they just come right back at Primary Village!"

She wasn't ready for the frigid response all of the digimon gave her. Tamer had to pull her aside to explain at just above a whisper, "Mimi, I know you were trying to be helpful but that's not how it works. Most of their friends will reformat at Primarily Village - but they're more than likely to come back without memories of their previous life. For them, that's the same thing as dying."

Realizing what she'd done wrong, Mimi blurted out her apologies, "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I didn't know! I was just trying to-"

"Save it," the grumpy Gekomon turned away. The air was tense in the entrance hall, so Agumon tried to change the subject, "How are you guys holding up? You have enough supplies or room?"

"There are adequate supplies but Koromon Village's destruction has taken its toll on the survivors," Andromon answered, "For the Gekomon and Otamamon who served ShogunGekomon, the mood is especially dire. He remains in his coma-like sleep and is unlikely to awaken."

"How long has he been asleep for? Maybe there's something we can do?" Joe offered, holding up his bag of medical supplies. Andromon shook his head, "No. His condition is not medically related."

"Then what happened?" Gomamon asked. The grumpy Gekomon turned to them and explained, "A long time ago, Etemon came here to challenge ShogunGekomon to a karaoke contest. ShogunGekomon was very proud of his singing voice and that pride was well earned. Etemon couldn't stand the idea of being second best and ShogunGekomon's pride as a singer was at stake. He sang his best songs to his best skill, harmonizing with the melody in the most spectacular way. But he couldn't compare to the musical genius of Etemon - who was by far the better singer. Satisfied that he was the best, Etemon left. His pride injured, Lord ShogunGekomon fell into a deep depression and sank into a slumber from which he's never awoken. The servants who were there with him to show their support also fell to despair and sank to sleep."

"Man, talk about egos," Matt frowned, "He lost a contest and felt so bad he hasn't woken up."

"I don't think so. Tamer, you mentioned that Etemon used his music career to experiment with songs. If he could make one that was capable of destroying a village, couldn't he also make one that could put people to sleep?" Izzy guessed. It was an interesting theory and Tamer nodded his agreement, adding, "His music always makes me sleep. But that is a good point."

"We've tried everything we could to wake him, cooking his favorite food, playing his favorite song, getting the best doctors to treat him and even tried smacking him awake with a bat. But nothing woke him," Gekomon finished, "Eventually, some of us left - unable to deal with his long slumber. Some stayed to care for him and his castle, but most went out into the world to find something else."

"Not everything. Andromon, can you take us to him?" Tamer asked. The android nodded and guided them through the castle into a grand ballroom further inside. The ceiling stretched so high they had to crane their necks all the way back just to see it. The ballroom matched the rest of the castle with its polished marble floors and long glass windows lining the walls that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. The floor was cleared of any tables and chairs, all stacked neatly in one corner. On the far end of the dance room, a large platform was set up like a stage with a microphone on the center. A sound system was hooked up on stage, connected to a set of speakers lining the walls.

Resting on the stage was a large orange digimon resembling a fatter Gekomon about the size of a truck. This digimon had two large brass trumpets sticking out the side of his head and sat in a crossed legged position with his head tilted forward. Lying around him were a group of a hundred or so Gekomon and Otamamon, curled up comfortably as they slept under blankets.

"WHOA! HE'S SO BIG!" TK awed, running up to the large digimon to better inspect it.

"And there's so many!" Tokomon added from atop his head.

"How long have they been like this?" Sora asked.

"I think about three hundred years," an Otamamon answered shyly. Agumon sized up the sleeping giant, "It's good to know that all the sleep did nothing for his weight."

"Joe, would you mind giving him a look?" Tamer asked. Joe took one glance at the giant digimon, "I don't even know where to start examining a guy that big."

"Well your dad's a doctor so go do…doctor-y things like check his pulse," Tamer suggested. Joe sighed and climbed onto the stage, staring in disbelief at the size of the giant slumbering digimon. He'd never felt so nervous and just one glance at this marvel before him left him uneasy. A digimon this big who'd been asleep for that long. Who was to say he wasn't already dead and they'd left a rotting body on the stage for all that time? Then again, wouldn't his body have just disappeared into a cloud of data if he were already dead? Joe placed two fingers on the creature wrist in search of vein and shuddered as he felt the cold slimy feel of its skin. He kept his fingers firmly pressed were it should have been and felt a weak, thready beat underneath - blood was still flowing so that was a good sign.

Then he panicked when ShogunGekomon breathed in his sleep, the sudden jerk of his arm had Joe jump away in fear that the large digimon might roll over in his sleep. He relaxed when ShogunGekomon failed to move and went back to doing whatever Tamer expected him to do. Meanwhile, Tamer asked, "Do you guys have a recording of the karaoke contest? I want to see Etemon's music for myself."

* * *

In another part of ShogunGekomon's castle, several of the survivors of Koromon Village gathered to talk about what they'd lost. The most vocal was the grumpy Gekomon, "I just...can't believe they're all gone."

"Well you heard Tamer, it had to happen!" a Koromon argued, "There wasn't anything anyone could do!"

"So what? Does that mean we were supposed to lay down and die?" Gekomon snapped angrily, "They could have done something, anything, like kill Etemon when they had the chance. But no! 'It's not supposed to happen yet' or 'That's not how it's supposed to be'! I'm tired of hearing that! Why don't they actually do something useful?"

"They saved us," a Gotsumon said wryly.

"After they left some of us to die," the grumpy Gekomon barked, "The point is, none of this would have happened if they'd just destroyed Etemon when they had the chance. Even ShogunGekomon would still be awake! Where were they when that happened?"

The room fell silent after that. They couldn't argue with the last part - they all served ShogunGekomon at some point, and they'd wanted to see their master awake again. It pained them to know that nothing could waken him - but were they powerless to do anything?

"Here's an idea: How about, instead of waiting for them to come around to save us - why don't we just stand up for ourselves?" the grumpy Gekomon added, "I say we kick them all out of this castle and tell them never to come back."

The other digimon looked at each other nervously. A Koromon spoke up, "But we can't do that! Not after everything they did for us! We'd be dead if they hadn't rescued us!"

"We wouldn't need rescuing because your village would still be around if Tamer and Agumon had just told Etemon where to find the digidestined! Koromon Village wouldn't have been destroyed, which means we wouldn't have had to run for our lives, which means we wouldn't have been captured!" Gekomon interrupted loudly, "So don't you dare defend them!"

"I will defend them," Koromon said back, "We've all lost things over the past few days. We've all lost friends and family. The difference between you and me is I know how to accept what I can't change!"

"It's now about accepting what can't be changed, it's about keeping things like this from happening!" the Gekomon snapped, "If Tamer and Agumon were anywhere near as helpful as they claimed to be, would any of this have happened?"

"We-"

"WOULD IT?" The Gekomon snapped, cowing the Koromon away sheepishly. None of the digimon could counter him on this point. He was right. None of this would have happened if they'd done more to help. If they hadn't done 'what's supposed to happen'.

* * *

Andromon produced a metal cart with a television connected to a VCR. It took the Gekomon some time to find the tape from the contest, buried with hundreds of years of accumulated recordings of the various karaoke contests. They moved into a recording studio on Tamer's insistence, "We're going test your theory Izzy - if ShogunGekomon fell asleep because he lost or if he fell asleep because of Etemon's music."

The recording studio wasn't as large or as spacious as the ballroom so they had to stand shoulder to shoulder to fit. The studio was divided into two sections: the recording booth that was full of microphones, and the command room, which had a soundboard and several computers, connected to headphones. A heavy steel door and a thick glass window connected the two rooms to each other.

"How did ShogunGekomon fit inside a room this small?" Gomamon asked.

"This room was meant for his back up vocals, not ShogunGekomon himself," Andromon explained.

"Why do we have to be in here? Couldn't we watch this in the ballroom?" Gomamon asked. Izzy waved it off, "If there's at all a chance that his music could make us fall asleep, then we don't want to listen to it accidentally and we definitely don't want anyone else to hear it."

"Okay, then why is he going in there alone?" Gomamon continued as Agumon dragged the cart into the recording booth with him. Andromon made sure the door was secure before answering, "These two rooms are sound proofed. Neither room can hear noise from the other. Not unless we push that button."

Tamer pointed at a big green button labeled talk on the console. Izzy added, "That way, if whatever music Etemon played did put them to sleep, we won't hear it."

"Oh, that makes sense!" Palmon agreed. Tamer pressed the talk button on the console and glanced inside, "Okay Agumon. Ready?"

Agumon waved through the window and nodded. Andromon quickly killed the sound between both rooms and the dinosaur pressed play. They watched with intense silence as Agumon stared at the screen. They could see ShogunGekomon waving his arms and motioning with his song. When he finished, he gave a bow and walked off stage only for Etemon to strut in. It was unsettling to see the monkey digimon again after what happened at the pyramid, like seeing a ghost in front of them. Etemon said something inaudible and started singing. Surprisingly, Agumon could be seen tapping his foot and bobbing his head to the rhythm.

"Is he enjoying the music?" Sora asked. Matt pushed the button to talk, "Agumon! You're not supposed to like it!"

Agumon raised a finger to stop him from talking, and then proceeded to wag it to the rhythm. They rolled their eyes in disbelief as Etemon finished his performance and spoke a few more words before walking away to a dancing beat. Agumon gave a slow audible clap then turned off the television, signaling through the window that it was okay. Andromon opened the door to let the little orange dinosaur out and Izzy ask, "Were you able to ascertain the nature of Etemon's hypnotic music?"

"I learned he can be a good singer. It really wasn't that bad," Agumon shrugged, earning him sighs and a scowl from Tamer, "Anything else?"

"He said there was never any contest. His was the best voice and ShogunGekomon ought to sulk in shame forever. I guess he meant it literally. He also said only a voice better than his could restore ShogunGekomon's pride," Agumon said flatly, his tone more somber. Mimi and Palmon bobbed excitedly with stars in their eyes, "Does that mean we have to sing to wake him up?"

"Well, the part about ShogunGekomon sulking was literal so why not?" Matt said sarcastically, "But why haven't you fallen asleep?"

"That's a go-" Agumon stopped, his eyelids sinking with his body as he fell to the floor. Tamer jumped in right away to grab him and cushion his descent, gently laying the tiny dinosaur down to rest on his knee. He sighed, "Well, at least we know that works. Now how do we wake him up? I wonder."

"You had a plan to wake him up, right?" Sora put her hands to her hips and looked at the boy expectantly. Tamer looked up at her offered his same dumb smile, "If I say yes, will you stop looking at me like you caught TK with his hand in the cookie jar?"

"Hey!" TK frowned.

"You have tried to get to the cookies before TK," Matt pointed out quietly, earning him a disgusted look from his little brother, "Gee. Thanks Matt."

"Matt. You're good with a harmonica! How good are you at singing?" Tamer jumped between the two, wrapping his arms around both brothers and bringing them into a huddle. Matt raised an eyebrow, "Why would being good with a harmonica make me good at singing?"

"Well, you are the musical one. It only makes-," Tamer paused, eyes widening with realization as he pushed the two away and started pacing, "Hang on…I think I did that in the wrong order. Did I? No wait, that's after the long hair. Okay, never mind! Pretend I didn't say anything and that I'm making loud, random noises with my mouth to distract you! Mimi! Can you sing?"

"Yes! I'm an amazing singer!" Mimi squealed, "What do you want me to sing?"

"You could always try ShogunGekomon's favorite song!" an Otamamon suggested as it walked in. Mimi cocked her head to the side, "What's his favorite song?"

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be preparing food for tonight?" Andromon asked the blue tadpole digimon. The Otamamon frowned, "Sorry. I heard you were trying to wake up Lord ShogunGekomon and came to see."

"So what's this song you were talking about?" Tokomon asked from atop TK's head.

"It's a song Lord ShogunGekomon wrote himself," the Otamamon explained, "It was his finest work and he was really proud of it. He spent weeks, pouring his heart and soul into it. Revising, changing, and starting over repeatedly. There was just one flaw: he was never able to sing it properly himself - it was outside his vocal range. The music was always beautiful, it was just a problem of finding someone to sing it."

"Do you have the sheet music?" Tamer asked, lifting up the unconscious Agumon in his arms. Otamamon nodded, "Of course."

"Show us."

Otamamon led them to one of the upper floors, which served as an entire library. Shelves lined every wall and each was stacked to the brim with books. A large wooden desk sat in the center with a comfort chair sitting in front of it. The desk was plain, covered in papers, splotches of ink, an inkbottle that had long since dried out and a quill. Otamamon climbed onto the large desk and rifled through the papers to retrieve the notes, "Here it is. His pride and joy. What do you think?"

Mimi snatched the papers first and glanced them over first, "The lyrics are beautiful!"

Tamer rested Agumon on the chair and took a peek at the papers, "Oh yeah, this could work. I had no idea ShogunGekomon had it in him."

"What's it supposed to sound like though?" Izzy asked.

"Something like this," Otamamon whistled the tune. It was very calming, like a gentle breeze and brought about an air of relaxation. Otamamon repeated it a few times and eventually Mimi joined in by singing the words on the paper. It took a bit of practice to get it just right, but there was no question that she should sing once she matched the rhythm set by Otamamon. It took some time to completely harmonize with Otamamon's whistle, but her voice become almost angelic when she did. There was no denying it - she was meant to sing this song.

Agumon twitched slightly while he slept, like he was trying to get up but failed. Tamer cracked a smile, "We found a way to wake up ShogunGekomon and all the other sleeping digimon. Mimi will just need to do a bit more practicing and the music will need to be figured out."

"Practice? Didn't you hear her voice! We're ready now!" Matt argued.

"She might be, but this music has a lot of instruments for the performance. If I'm reading this, we'll need keyboards, drums, guitars, and a bass," Tamer stated as he examined the music sheets, "And the ones playing the instruments will need to harmonize with her. Plus, she's good - but she has to sing better than Etemon."

"So what, are we supposed to learn how to play instruments? That'll take forever!" Matt groaned aloud, and the digidestined murmured their agreement. Matt could play his harmonica, sure. No one else knew how to play any other instruments. Tamer sighed, "Not you guys. The digimon."

"Who, us?" Tentomon asked. Tamer shook his head and pointed at the Otamamon, "Them."

"I don't mind having some background singers for my concert. I already have a few ideas for how this might look," Mimi thought, putting a hand to her chin. Otamamon nodded, "Oh! I see! We could definitely try. We'll need a few days to get it right."

"Well, we only have three," Tamer explained, "Can you do it by then?"

"I don't think I can get it ready in three. I'd need at least a week!" Mimi frowned, to Tamer's annoyance, "Mimi. It took us two days to get here and it'll take another two days to get to Myotismon's castle. That gives us three days to make this work."

As he said those words, Mimi felt a sudden nervous pang in her chest. She didn't say anything but nodded quietly. Tamer gave her a thumbs up, "We'll be counting on you, okay Mimi?"

* * *

Over the next two days. Mimi practiced the song each day in the recording room with several Gekomon and Otamamon servants. The rest of the digidestined went about the castle doing anything to help out. Izzy and Tentomon resigned themselves to the library, where the computer genius poured over endless pages of books to learn more about the Digital World. Unfortunately, none of the books were in a language he could read and his attempts to translate them were proving fruitless. It didn't help that he did find books he could read, but they were all manga about ninjas wanting to be heroes, aliens fighting over dragons, the grim reaper recruiting children to catch evil spirits, and other absurd stories. Nothing he wanted to waste his time over.

Sora and Biyomon assisted with cleaning. Tamer suggested they help with the guard duty but that became very boring, very quickly. There was little entertainment to be found when it came to staring out into blank empty desert. So Tamer took that job over for them, although he could never be seen doing it.

Matt and Gabumon found their place in the kitchen, helping to cook for the one hundred plus digimon that were now living in castle. Joe tried to help but this ended disastrously. No one knows for certain how the soup caught fire or how the bread managed to come out of the oven doughier than when they'd gone in, but it was decided that he shouldn't be allowed there again. TK and Tokomon were the only ones to witness the spectacle, but couldn't explain what happened without bursting into laughter each time it was brought up.

Instead, Joe and Gomamon got relegated to roles as gofers for Mimi. If she needed something, they'd have to get it for her right away. Of course, the number of requests escalated quickly and they had to bring in more digimon to help out. The requests were simple at first: glasses of water, something to snack on from the kitchen, or even a chair she could sit in. From there, it became absurd - costumes for everyone in her band to wear, a chair with her name on it for when they took breaks, more luxurious meals than Matt or the servants could ever be skilled enough to prepare, the redecoration of the ballroom for their performance, and the insistence on being called 'Princess'.

Despite Joe's pleas to dial back her requests, Mimi insisted on having her way so that her singing voice wouldn't be affected. Naturally, none of the servants or the survivors of Koromon Village took kindly to this. Especially when a Gekomon crashed into Mimi while trying to fetch her a platter of sushi. The sushi flew off the platter onto the frilly pink dress Mimi had made for her as part of her costume. It didn't take long for a scene to play out in the hallway, "Watch where you're going! You ruined my dress!"

"I'm sorry, Princess Mimi! It was a mistake! I'll wash it right away!" the Gekomon apologized.

"This is dry clean only! It won't be ready to wear!" Mimi scolded.

"Well, you could always use the extra time to practice," the Gekomon offered apologetically, earning him a slap from Mimi, "I will not practice outside costume!"

"Like you practice anyway," the Gekomon said under his breath. Unfortunately Mimi heard him and remarked, "If that's how you feel, then I'm done. I won't sing and ShogunGekomon can sleep forever!"

"No! Wait! I'm sorry!" the Gekomon pleaded, but Mimi was already storming off in the other direction. The Gekomon tried to speak up but stopped when the grump Gekomon appeared, "Don't. She's not worth it."

"You," the first Gekomon said, "You're the last one I want to talk to right now."

"Why? We have to stick together, especially against those digidestined," the grump Gekomon said. The first Gekomon sighed, "Why do you hate them so much? I've never seen any digimon hold as much of a grudge as you do."

"After the way she treated you, you're really going to ask me that question?" the grump Gekomon replied. The first Gekomon sighed, "I…she can wake up ShogunGekomon. Isn't that worth it?"

"You tell me. You're the one serving her," the grump answered, walking away in the opposite direction of the hallway. The Gekomon servant sighed and went about picking up the sushi on the floor. He'd need to scrub hard to get the sauce out of the carpet.

* * *

"Mimi, you should apologize to that Gekomon," Sora reprimanded the girl, "He was just trying to help. And it's not like a ruined dress is a big deal."

"It's a big deal for me Sora," Mimi frowned, "I can't go on stage looking like this! I'll die from embarrassment! This is all that Gekomon's fault!"

"What's gotten into you? You're acting all snobby. I mean, you already took the nicest room in the castle. We didn't even ask for that!" Matt observed. He took another glance at the extravagant room Mimi had been sleeping in for the past few days. High-class was the word that came to mind. The windows were dressed with velvet curtains; a vanity mirror complete with dresser and a make up kit took up an entire length of the far wall, and racks of clothing sat beside the dresser. The warm, inviting bed was lined with silk sheets and soft cotton pillows. Mimi sat on the bed with her arms crossed, quietly bouncing as if to demonstrate how cushy it was. If it weren't for the displaced digimon who now called this place home, he would've asked for it too.

Mimi took offense at Matt, "I'm acting snobby? I'm sorry if I just want a little slack every now and then! It's not like you have to spend all those hours singing! My throat hurts when I go to bed at night! And it's sore when I wake up. But it's not like I can skip practice! I only have one more day to get it right! And I-I-"

"Mimi, calm down!" Palmon implored only for Mimi to scream, "Calm down! I can't calm down! Not when I have to sing in front of all those digimon! And they expect that to help wake ShogunGekomon up! Which means I have less than a day to get it right! How am I supposed to calm down!?"

Tears welled up in her as she spoke and she choked a little. She stopped talking only when Joe put a hand on her shoulder, "Mimi. Stop. Take a deep breath."

The girl did as she was instructed and calmed down, "Thanks Joe."

"Spend enough time stressing and you learn how to deal," Joe patted her shoulder. It had been easy to think that Mimi was acting like a spoiled brat up until now. It wasn't so easy to maintain that thought after seeing her have a nervous break. Palmon took a seat beside her on the bed and rested a hand on her, "Mimi, you shouldn't pressure yourself like this. It's not healthy."

Mimi's face was expressionless as she answered, "I'm…nervous and scared."

"There's little reason for concern with your natural talent as a singer and the way your voice resonates with the music," Izzy offered as consolation, but he only got a confused look from Mimi. He sighed and rephrased, "You're a good singer and shouldn't worry so much.

"Oh…thanks," Mimi said flatly, still staring blankly. It was hard to tell from looking at her, but she was deep in thought about what to do next. The boys all looked to each other, trying to figure out what to say. Sora looked at them glancing at each other nervously and finally spoke, "Mimi. We're sorry for not noticing how you were feeling earlier. That was our mistake."

Mimi's expression finally softened, "No. I was wrong because I acted out. I shouldn't have behaved how I did. I liked being pampered and…I didn't want to leave either. After Koromon Village, Etemon, and then the coliseum. It's too much and…I don't think I can do this. I'm sorry Palmon."

Her tears came back, streaming down the side of her face. Palmon hugged her partner, "Don't cry Mimi."

Tamer finally sighed and spoke up, "You're scared. That's fine. Everyone's scared. We can stay an extra day or two practicing."

Mimi looked over at him, rubbing her eyes. That brief moment when they made eye contact, it was like they were speaking volumes to each other. None of the other digidestined knew what they were communicating in that glance, and it was so brief they weren't sure they just imagined it. Mimi asked, "Really?"

Tamer shrugged and paced around the room, "It's up to you. Right now, I think you're the only one who can wake up ShogunGekomon. But Myotismon is going for your world. And he'll do it in three days, which is our only window to stop him. The more time we spend here, the less time we have to stop him. There's a chance we're going to die, but you guys already know that. You've seen that happen already, so you know what's at stake. But do you really want to stay an extra day or two?"

The group as a whole looked at him, and Mimi answered, "I thought you said I could."

Tamer paused to look out the window, "I meant, do you really want to ensure Myotismon gets to your world? It takes two days to get there. We could leave you and Palmon behind. You guys will be safe here. But who knows how we'll manage without you two? We might all die, which means you'd be trapped in this world forever since he and I are the only ones who know how to work the gate! Then again, it might be for the best. Like I said, Myotismon gets inside your head. If you're cracking under this - I'd hate to see what would happen if he really got to you. Either way, you'll never see your parents, your family, and your friends ever again. At least, not alive. Sure, you won't have to go to school or do homework. But that'll be because Myotismon blew a great big hole in the universe where your world used to be. You won't be able to go do…whatever it is you do. I don't know, you like clothes right? Well, you won't be able to go clothes shopping. But hey. You'll be safe here. You can live with the Gekomon and Otamamon as they serve ShogunGekomon. It's up to you. If you need me, I'll be on guard duty."

Everyone was shocked by how blunt he was, especially after the two of them looked like they'd had a moment. Tamer moved to the door but stopped just as he stepped out into the hallway, as if he sensed the negative tension in the air. Without looking back, he added, "That song ShogunGekomon wrote. Otamamon said he was proud of it - it was his masterpiece. He put his heart and soul into that song. Every note and every word is a reflection of how he feels. And you have a good voice. It's like you were meant to sing it. But ShogunGekomon would be disappointed to learn that the person singing those words doesn't truly mean them from the bottom of their heart. I think you can mean it, and part of you does mean it deep down. You just forgot how to be honest with that part of yourself. You shouldn't doubt yourself so much."

He closed the door behind him and left the room in silence. Mimi stared down at the floor sheepishly, feeling worse than she did before. Matt sighed, "Talk about a downer."

"I'll say," Gabumon agreed.

"He's right, though," Mimi mumbled quietly, "Maybe I should just stay here."

"Forget about him, Mimi. He's just a stubborn jerk," Gomamon's attempt at consoling her sounded more like an attempt to insult Tamer. She nodded her head, "He is. But he's an honest jerk."

Mimi jumped off the bed and grabbed a set of clothes from the dresser. She moved behind a divider threw her ruined dress over the top. The guys naturally turned around bashfully, while Sora asked, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to sing," Mimi smiled, walking back out from behind the divider in her normal clothes.

* * *

The palace servants and some of the survivors of Koromon Village gathered in the ballroom. The stage was left largely untouched and several Gekomon and Otamamon stood on stage on instruments nervously. Mimi stood in the center and gazed out at all the digimon, many giving her disgusted looks. She knew she'd be singing front of an audience of digimon that she'd driven nuts with her demands and she'd been mentally preparing for whatever they'd throw at her. It didn't helped that they'd worked hard to move the sleeping ShogunGekomon and the other sleeping digimon off stage so they could listen - so they expected him to wake up from her performance. And she'd know right away if it were working because she'd be watching him. It reminded her that she couldn't get cold feet and a deep breath was all it took to calm herself down.

She glanced to the side, just off stage to where the others were seated to watch. Tamer was sitting beside the sleeping Agumon, patting the dinosaur's sleeping head. Palmon and Sora gave her a thumbs up in encouragement. It was now or never. She cleared her throat and spoke, "Everyone. I wanted to apologize about how I acted the last few days. It was wrong and I know I don't deserve your forgiveness. But I'll help make it right, by waking up ShogunGekomon."

There was a murmur of excitement among the digimon. She looked to the digimon on stage with her and nodded. The Otamamon on the drums behind her set the beat by clapping his drumsticks together and the song started with the keys and bass. She began to sing.

" _Don_ _'t fail me now, beautiful wings!_

 _You're my life, you're my everything!_

 _We can fly if you believe in my love!"_

Mimi paused to let the musicians play their part and waited for them to slow down before continuing.

" _Ready to ride the wind now!_

 _I'm a butterfly letting my wings out!_

 _My friend, I can't wait to see you again!"_

Another guitar solo. Mimi looked over to see ShogunGekomon stirring, his eyes twitching and his head moving slightly. It was working.

" _Letting go of all my worries!_

 _Make way, I'm in a hurry!_

 _Right now there's no time for fooling around!_

 _Tell me, Oh-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa!_

 _Can I soar through the skies above?_

 _Oh, I don't know-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa!_

 _If I'll ever see the tomorrow I'm dreaming of!_

 _Feels like my faith is slipping away!_

 _This nightmare's got me losing my way!_

 _When will it ever end?_

 _I've got to stay strong to keep the love going!_

 _Don't fail me now, beautiful wings!_

 _You're my life, you're my everything!_

 _We can fly if you believe in my love!_

 _Feeling one with the wind now!_

 _I'm flying free, nothing can bring me down!_

 _High or low, I'm going wherever you go!_

 _Rocking to the beat of my own song!_

 _Haven't felt this alive in so long!_

 _Let it ring, cause words mean everything!_

 _Tell me, Oh whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa!_

 _Could they reach out like never before!?_

 _Oh, I don't know-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa!_

 _Guess I'll get up and go find the answer I'm longing for!_

 _Feels like I've woken up from a dream!_

 _I've shaken off the misery!_

 _Back to my care-free days!_

 _I'm living my life and doing things my way!_

 _Don't fail me now, trembling wings!_

 _You're my hope, you're my everything!_

 _We can fly if you believe in my love!"_

She stopped once more for another long instrumental. ShogunGekomon's eyes were creeping open, and a few of the sleeping digimon groggily sat up. Even Agumon was starting to stir. In a moment of uncharacteristic childishness, Tamer hugged his partner and cheered. It was working and this encouraged her to sing the final part of the song.

" _Feels like my faith is slipping away!_

 _This nightmare's got me losing my way!_

 _When will it ever end?_

 _I've got to stay strong to keep the love going!_

 _Don't fail me now, beautiful wings!_

 _You're my life, you're my everything!_

 _We can fly if you believe!_

 _Oh yeah!_

 _Feels like I've woken up from a dream!_

 _I've shaken off the misery!_

 _Back to my carefree days!_

 _I'm living my life and doing things my way!_

 _Don't fail me now, trembling wings!_

 _You're my hope, you're my everything!_

 _We can fly if you believe in my love!"_

She held the last note as long as she could, then let the guitar take over the finale. The Gekomon strummed a few more strings and allowed the music to fade out. There was some mild applause and murmurs of approval - not the reaction Mimi expected to get. But one response stood out, a slow and thunderous clap from the back of the stage. The crowd turned to face ShogunGekomon as he wiped a tear from his eye, "That was beautiful."

"Lord ShogunGekomon!" some of the crowd cried in joy. They prostrated themselves before the massive orange frog while he continued clapping, "Please. Sing it again."

Mimi nodded and looked at the other digimon on stage. They smiled their approval and prepared to play again.

* * *

They did three more performances. Mimi stopped after the last one because her throat hurt. ShogunGekomon was brought to tears by her performance and was proud to see his music brought to perfection. Afterwards, the servants went about preparing a feast to celebrate the reawakening of so many digimon. There were many heartfelt reunions among the awoken digimon, whose friends were happy to see them awaken again. There were tears over the loss at Koromon Village and those who perished - and relief for those who survived.

Since Mimi was too hoarse to sing again, other digimon got up to sing in their place. Otamamon, Gekomon, Gotsumon, and Koromon each took a turn on the microphone. The other digidestined ate and drank with the digimon.

Amidst the celebration, only ShogunGekomon noticed Tamer and Agumon sneak out of the castle. Each digimon welcomed ShogunGekomon back and offered him something as a gift. He welcomed it all but eventually excused himself to the bathroom, but it was an obvious excuse to sneak away. He found Tamer, Agumon, and Andromon outside along the beach, gazing out to sea. He wanted to extend his thanks to the three for their actions - Andromon for helping the guard at the castle and the two heroes for all they'd done. He could hear the end of Agumon's sentence as he spoke.

"-eaving tomorrow morning. After that, we're depending on you to keep things safe."

"I will accomplish my mission directives until you return," Andromon nodded silently.

"Sorry to leave you hanging like this. But this next part has to happen. It will be a long time before we come back. About a thousand years. But this should make it easier," Tamer explained quietly. He pressed a few buttons on his digivice and a light flashed in Andromon's eye. The confused droid asked, "What is this?"

"A list of every digimon who owes us a favor and where they live," Tamer said, "If you need a hand, tell them we've come to collect on their debt."

"Is that Leomon's name?" Andromon asked in awe. Tamer nodded, "Yeah. Again, I'm sorry we won't be here for this next. We'll be gone for a long time. But if everything plays out how it should, we'll be back."

"You come all this way to wake me up and then you leave already?" ShogunGekomon said to them as he approached. Tamer didn't smile but explained, "Sorry. You know us. Things have to happen and it's our job to make sure they do. We'll see you another time."

"Well, at least come back inside and join us for the party," ShogunGekomon offered to them, "You two sound like you have a lot to do and you should relax while you have the time."

"We'll be back inside in a minute," Agumon said, "We just have to let Andromon know what we're doing."

"And what are you doing?" ShogunGekomon leaned in closely. Tamer sighed, "We're going to fight Myotismon in his castle, we're going to take them home. Well…that's how I'd like it to go but that's not how it's _supposed_ to go. We'll fail and Myotismon will lead an army into the Real World. And then it's all down hill from there. But that's what has to happen, y'know."

"It has to 'happen'. Isn't that the reason we're in the mess?" ShogunGekomon asked. Tamer and Agumon remained silent, continuing to stare out to sea. Realizing they weren't going to answer him, ShogunGekomon instead asked, "Will you at least tell us what it is you're trying to accomplish?"

Tamer and Agumon exchanged nervous glances, but Tamer answered this question, "Saving the Digital World."

* * *

In another part of the castle, the grumpy Gekomon crept away from the festivities and locked himself in one of the rooms. It was dark now, and most of the lights were off in the castle. The grumpy Gekomon opened the window to the one of the rooms and met a tall pale figure. The figure moved inside, adjusting its cape to conceal everything but its masked faced. The Gekomon bowed, "Master Myotismon. They've awoken ShogunGekomon."

Myotismon frowned, "That was expected. It's irrelevant. It's what the digidestined don't expect that will destroy everything they've worked for. We're preparing to invade the other side."

"Master, will I get to join you in your glorious march on the humans?" the Gekomon asked, glancing sideways at a mirror. He hated this ridiculous illusion he had to wear, but it was part of his long-term mission for his master. He longed to stretch his wings and see his normal body again, but he would never think to disobey Myotismon. His lord shook his head, "No. You will continue your mission. Plant the seeds of doubt within ShogunGekomon and Andromon's force. Break their wills so that they falter at the critical moment. Those are your orders. You've done well so far, and I expect even more from you my loyal servant!"

"It was easy, especially when Koromon Village got blown up," the grumpy Gekomon answered, "This put them in greater despair than ever! But ShogunGekomon's return has brightened their spirits. Any doubt I've helped cultivate can't have survived that."

"Then you will work twice as hard to fan the flames," Myotismon answered, "Is that understood, DemiDevimon?"

The Gekomon nodded, "Whatever you want your maliciousness!"

Myotismon took his leave and departed for his domain. He had an invasion to prepare.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** And so we've concluded Chapter 20. If you loved it, leave a review to let me know! I usually reply in a day or two. I also welcome constructive criticism and speculation on future chapters! Join me in next Friday on April 1, 2016 at 5 PM CST for another rousing chapter of The Tamer! And now for some teasers for next time! Much like before, these are in no particular order and were pulled randomly from the next chapter!

"No quips? I'm disappointed," Myotismon answered with a smirk.

"Believe it!" Matt shouted at the darkness.

"Myotismon is a vampire. Watch out or he'll suck you dry," Agumon teased with a smile.

"I don't think they want your life story Wizardmon," Gatomon commented wryly.

"I've heard enough! Garurumon! Shut him up!" Matt called out to his partner.


	21. Myotismon's Castle

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hey folks! Welcome to Chapter 21 of the Tamer! Another big thanks to everyone who followed and favorited the story! I'm glad you guys like it! And even bigger thanks to those who left reviews! More special mention goes to Ace Spiritwell for making the cover art. Give their fanfiction a read and their deviantart account a look. A lot of you liked the lyrics from last chapter. Those are not my lyrics. I pulled them from a fan performed version of Butter-Fly by a singer called 'Sapphire'. Go check out their youtube and buy the music on amazon. Next, I have reply for a guest review:

 **Guest:** The Tamer - A Digimon Adventure has been planned from beginning to end. Zeromaru, Yggdrasil, The Dark Masters, The Royal Knights, and more will eventually come into play. As will other elements. I have said this before and will say it again. At the current update pace, the Tamer will reach its conclusion in approximately nine years. Yes, there is that much story to cover. Although, this makes the assumption that I don't go ahead with any of the spin-off ideas I've got in my head.

Now, let's start Chapter 21!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 21: Myotismon's Castle**

They departed early the next morning, and it took them two days travel to reach their destination. They had one chance to stop Myotismon. One chance to keep him from going to their world. It was just a question of if they could. They landed a distance away from the castle and marched through miles of barren wasteland, with nothing in sight for miles but the gray dirt around them and a fine mist that swept across their feet. The further they went, the grayer the skies and the thicker the fog became. There were no clouds and no sun, as if the world around them became trapped in twilight. At the end of their trek was Myotismon's castle - an elegant structure with a western gothic design perched a top a high mountain surrounded by hundreds of jagged rocks.

"Man, Myotismon really knows how to pick 'em. Spooky castle on a mountain, dark skies, foggy fields. All we need now are werewolves and vampires," Matt commented on their approach, "Or a graveyard with zombies."

"Myotismon _is_ a vampire. Watch out or he'll suck you dry," Agumon teased with a smile.

"That's not funny Agumon," Biyomon slapped him across the side of the head.

TK hugged Tokomon tight, "Tokomon, you can stay close to me if you get scared."

Tokomon nodded, knowing full well that it was TK who was afraid. To help his partner feel better, Tokomon snidely added, "And Mimi knows who she can hang on to if she's scared. Or if she gets lost in the fog."

"This isn't fog," Tamer stated as they continued walking. Tentomon glanced around them, "It sure looks like fog."

Agumon explained as they walked, "That's because it isn't. This fog is data. See, back in the war, both sides came up with new ways to kill each other permanently. When digimon die, they turn into clouds of data. The data disperses and returns to Primary Village where it reformats into a new digimon. Weaker digimon lose their memories but stronger ones can retain some of their identity. Well one of the ideas Tamer's people came up with was to stop the data from returning to Primary Village. The data freezes in place the moment the digimon dies, leaving a cloud."

"So all this fog-" Sora trailed off as Agumon finished, "-is a graveyard."

Realization dawned on her. The fog around them was made entirely of the data of digimon who never reformatted. Thinking about it sent chills down her spine. Gomamon commented, "Your people were really messed up."

"Desperate times, desperate measures," Tamer replied without skipping a beat, "Personally, I don't think that was the worse thing either side did in the war. Come on, there's an old sewer drain this way."

"Sewer? We're going in through the sewers?" Mimi asked worriedly, glancing down at her clothes, "The smell will positively ruin my dress!"

"If all we have to do go get home is go through a sewer, then I say why not?" Matt stated, "There will be plenty of showers back in our world."

As he said this he heard a voice behind him growl, "KILL!"

He leapt away and the group gasped in horror as they saw a half buried Devimon lying on the ground, obscured by the fog but reaching out to attack them. On closer inspection, they realized the Devimon wasn't half buried. Half of his body just wasn't there, like someone took an eraser and smudged away its entire left side. On what remained of its face, they could see only agony. It reached out to Matt desperately and added, "ME!"

TK tightened his grip on Tokomon nervously, recalling the battle on File Island. Matt still held a grudge against Devimon for what happened there and raised his leg to stamp its head, "Gladly!"

"Stop," Tamer pulled Matt back, "That's not your Devimon. It's a different one from the war."

"How can you tell?" Izzy examined it carefully and could see no clear distinction. Tamer looked at the Devimon somberly, "Because I did this. Back in the war, I got to use one of the weapons that does this to digimon. But I missed my first time."

"And your second. Also the next hundred. He was a really bad shot," Agumon added. Tamer rolled his eyes, "Thank you Agumon."

"PLEASE! KILL! ME!" the Devimon rasped desperately, still trying to reach out to Matt. Tamer hurried them along, "Ignore it. Devimon are all the same: cruel, cowardly, and manipulative. Let it suffer."

"Tai that's…sick," Sora gasped. Tamer sighed, "You're absolutely right, Sky."

Then he turned to walk away, as if nothing had happened. They followed him but none of them could ignore its pleas as they walked away, "KILL! ME! PLEASE! KILL! ME!"

The sound echoed behind them as they proceeded through the fog, the image of what they'd seen forever burned into their minds. Tamer led them to a dried sewage pipe jutting out of the ground, sealed by rusted iron bars. The smell coming from within was uninviting. It took the strength of everyone's digimon working together to tear the rusting metal off. Tamer crawled in first, followed by Agumon. Sora went to climb in after them, but the smell was so strong that she pulled away and covered her nose, "It smells like moldy old cheese inside a gym sock that was left out in the sun. How can you guys stand to be in there?"

"This is nothing. We once spent a week hiding under a pile of bodies," Tamer said back, "This is a vacation by comparison!"

"Really?" Biyomon gasped.

"You want to get home right? Because we really don't have time to play twenty questions," Agumon said back.

"Can't we just take a back door or something?" Joe asked.

"We'll be killed before we even got close," Tamer explained, "This is the safest way in! No one ever guards the toilets."

Sora reluctantly followed them into the cramped pipe. The smell hit her like a brick, and she had to hold her breath for the entire trip to keep from throwing up. They crawled through the dank stink for the better part of an hour, although it felt like an eternity because of the smell. While it was dry and appeared unused, someone left the lights on in the tunnel so they could easily see where they were going. That welcome reprieve turned to worry when Agumon commented that meant the plumbing still worked; one flush and they would get blasted with fresh toilet water, along with its contents. It didn't help that they passed several smaller holes meant to feed other pipes into this single large one.

When they finally reached the end of the sewage pipe, they found themselves in a large chamber with flowing water and a ladder climbing up to a covered manhole. Agumon went out first, lifting out the lid to peek through and signaling that it was safe. They clamored out quickly to escape the smell and get some fresh air. The breath of air was welcome after the horrid smell, although it felt like part of it lingered on their clothes. At least it wasn't as overpowering as it was in the sewer. Once they were all out, Agumon shut the manhole behind them.

With the smell mostly gone, they could focus on their surroundings now - a large stone courtyard with walls that stretched forever to the sky. On one side was a large wooden gate and across it was a grand entrance into the main hall. They were flanked on all sides by large gargoyle-esque statues with four eyes and long snouts bearing sharp teeth. On closer inspection, they resembled winged lizards dressed like Devimon.

"Spooky castle on a mountain, fog surrounding the place, kinda dark, vampires, a sorta graveyard, and now creepy statues. We should've expected creepy statues. What's next? A disembodied voice?" Palmon commented, staring into the eyes of one the statues that looked like it was peering back at her devilishly.

"This place could really use an interior decorator. Gray doesn't do this place any favors," Mimi commented, "Also everything about this place looks like it wants to kill us."

"Yep. That's Myotismon," Tamer nodded, taking a look around at the castle, "Everything's gotta be mood and atmosphere because he likes to get in people's heads. I don't know why, though. It's not very friendly. Then again, he's not the type to invite people over. Not that anyone would come over. He's very touchy-feely and not in the good way. Scratch that, there is no good way."

"I figured this place would be more guarded, the way you talk about it. Where is everyone?" Joe asked, listening intently to the sound of silence. Tamer realized this as well and nodded, "That's a very good point. We should go, now."

"You don't think Myotismon's started?" Agumon asked worriedly.

"If he has, then we're running out of time!" Tamer repeated, starting off into the main entrance hall, "He'll be invading your world any second!"

"Not if we have anything to say about it," Sora tightened her fists, "Let's go."

They followed Sora's lead into the castle, with the Tamer already further inside. The entrance hall was weathered and battered. The crumbling remains of arching columns lay scattered on the floor, leading the way to a shattered staircase with a gaping chasm down the middle. Through the chasm, they could see a path that fed further to another cave. Tamer stood at the bottom, motioning for them to follow, "Hurry up guys. We don't have a lot of time."

He extended out his hand, "And hold hands too! Everything beyond here is…different, so stick together no matter what. And try not to get lost."

Izzy and Mimi kept a good distance from each other at the sound of those words. TK latched onto his older brother and Gabumon right away. Everyone held hands, with Tamer at front and Agumon in the rear so that nobody fell behind. They walked like this down into the cave and found themselves in an indescribable complex that stretched forever into the sky and into ground with no end in sight. Staircases and walkways appeared above and below them, constantly shifting and twisting around to create new pathways. Before them was a lone stone walkway that went further into the room and connected to a doorway on the other side. Tamer guided them out into the walkway but, no matter how far they walked, the other end never seemed to draw closer. After a long walk, Tentomon asked, "How much further do we have to go? I don't think we're getting anywhere."

"Just keep following me," Tamer said coming to an abrupt halt and looking over the side of the railing of the walkway. There was a gap in the railing that wasn't there before and he stepped towards it, "Come along."

Tamer went to walk off it and Sora tried to pull him back. He was a lot stronger than he looked and she couldn't get him to stop walking. Instead, she tried to pull her hand free to keep from getting pulled over the edge by him but he refused to let go. She was going to be pulled over the edge with him so she did the only she could, she let go of Biyomon to spare her. Death always seemed like a looming danger in the Digital World, she just didn't think it would happen like this - getting pulled over the edge to her death by a friend she thought was dead. She heard the others gasp and scream, "SORA!"

She opened her mouth to scream, expecting to fall to her doom. Instead, she found herself standing on solid ground still holding Tamer's hand. They were still on the walkway, although the world around them looked like it was flipped upside down. He took one look at her and his eyes widened, "Did you let go of Biyomon? Biyomon! Are you guys still there!?"

"Sora! Are you alright!?" Matt shouted.

"I'm fine," Sora answered back, following the sound of the voice to the guardrail. She chanced a glance over the edge and the saw the others below her, peering over the guardrail and looking back in confusion. They were upside down, staring up at her without falling

"Sora?" Biyomon said, looking up at her, "How are you doing that?"

"Forget about me, how are you guys doing that down there? Shouldn't you be falling?" Sora asked in surprise. Biyomon and Gabumon looked at each other, "Us? You're the ones who are upside down."

"We're both upside down," Tamer stated, "Or, if you prefer, we're both right side up. Physics in this room is relative because it exists in an extra-dimensional state outside normal three dimensional physics."

"I see, so the rules of normal physics wouldn't necessarily apply in this state since we're walking through what is essentially an Escher drawing," Izzy stated excitedly. Tamer nodded, "More or less, one step to the left moves you to a point three hundred feet below. Or above for us. Then again, it'd be horizontal for the person who ends up there."

"Fascinating, how did your people manage to get this inside here?" Izzy asked, "This room seems to stretch on forever but the castle is so small."

"It's your standard Mobius loop. Go far enough in any direction and you'll end up where you started," Tamer replied with a proud smile, "Or close enough."

"You guys are doing that moon-man talk thing, where you say words that don't mean anything or make any sense. It's confusing. Why can't up just be up?" Joe frowned, adjusting his glasses to hide the annoyed expression on his face. TK and Tokomon peeked over the edge at them, "So if we jump, will we land on the other side like you guys did?"

"Eh, more like fall. It's all relative," Tamer positioned Sora off to the side, away from the ledge, "Are you guys coming? In a couple of seconds, that gap won't lead here anymore."

"Well, here goes nothing," Biyomon sighed. She eyed the fall before her, or perhaps the rise. A lumped formed in her throat when she saw the bottomless room before her. She swallowed the lump and took a jump, dragging everyone with her. Then landed on her butt as she hit the floor. The others were just as graceful in their landing, piling on top of each other as they hit the ground.

"Get off me Joe!" Palmon shouted, pushing the glasses wearing boy off her back.

"All of you get off!" Matt said at the bottom of the pile, buried beneath everyone. Tamer buried his face in his hands, "The heroes of the Digital World…can't even taken a step forward without tripping on themselves. We are doomed."

"Yes, you are," an unfamiliar voice to the digidestined echoed in the chamber. They all scrambled to their feet, with kids in the middle and the digimon surrounding them. The room was so large and there were so many moving obstacles to focus on that it was hard to tell where the voice came from. Palmon was the first to state, "Called it! Next, a cat will cross our path and give us bad luck!"

"What?" the voice asked.

Palmon explained, "Well, this castle's really spooky and the statues were creepy, so I guessed the next thing we'd meet would be a disembodied voice! And I was right!"

"Palmon, I don't think now's a good time for this," Gabumon added nervously, glancing around at the ever changing room for the source of the voice. It was impossible to tell where anything was coming from and the voice continued, "These are the digidestined? The chosen children to save this world?"

"Yeah we are! And we're here to kick butt! Scared?" Sora proclaimed to the voice.

"Underwhelmed," the voice had a hint of disappointment in its tone, "Years of planning and preparation for…this. I think I might have over-prepared. It almost seems pointless to do anything. I refuse to believe any of you beat Devimon or Etemon."

"Believe it!" Matt shouted at the darkness. Everyone turned on him with exasperated looks. They knew what he was trying to say, but his choice of words and the way he said it was so childish. Joe looked at the blonde haired boy and asked, "Seriously?"

"What?" Matt asked nervously.

"That was lame. Really lame! Like hyperactive knucklehead lame," Gomamon groaned. Tamer ad-libbed, "You have no idea."

"You've rubbed off on them you two. They're even copying your banter," the voice observed of the group. Agumon retorted with a smile at the darkness, "Imitation is the best form of flattery. Besides, if two of us are awesome, then fourteen will be amazing."

"You still play the fool. Is it to put me off guard or are you trying to hide your own anxieties?"

"Tamer, what's he talking about?" Izzy asked, looking at the goggle headed boy. Tamer returned the computer whiz's stare and winked, "Remember, he likes to get in your head. Just ignore him."

"So this is Myotismon?" Tentomon's voice cracked as he spoke.

"Can't be that tough if you're too scared to show up," Gomamon added, his confident voice betrayed by the way he shook. Myotismon laughed and the sound echoed throughout the whole room, "You want me to appear? Very well, fight me if you may be so bold."

There was a sudden gust of wind, and a tall thin man in blue clothes stood in the center of their formation. His red cape billowed from his earlier momentum, which he brought down to control with a wave of his hand, "Boo."

"That's not a cat," Palmon commented, ignoring the pink blur that was her partner running behind her. The kids scattered behind their digimon partners, except for Tamer and Agumon. Agumon bore his claws and readied to attack, holding his ground only because Tamer held out his hand to stop him. The boy adjusted his goggles over his face and smiled, "Long time no see, Myotismon."

"No quips? I'm disappointed," Myotismon answered with a smirk. He parted his lips just enough to show the razor sharp fangs underneath. Tamer adjusted his stance, adjusting his cloak to let his hands out, "Well, I noticed you…really let this place go. I never would've…guessed you were a slob. A hundred thousand years of…bachelor life. Also, I didn't see any of your digimon…when we came in. Are they on vacation…or did they finally get sick and leave? I know I would."

"There, doesn't it feel so much better to let that out? That may be the last relief any of you have," Myotismon explained softly. His tone was gentle now, less cold than it was moments ago. He continued, "Let me ask. Have you told them since we last spoke?"

"Told us what?" Sora looked at Tamer. It was hard to read his expression with his goggles masking his eyes but he appeared calm. Until he started swaying unevenly, like he did with Etemon at the pyramid. Myotismon continued, "So you didn't. That's fine. Children, you should know that these two are leading you to a blood bath. Not that I mind - the sanguine taste is refreshing. However, if you think for one moment that he isn't - then kill me. Strike me down."

"Guys…don't. It's a…trick," Tamer sounded sickly. Sora looked to her old friend, "Hey, are you okay?"

"Fine," Tamer said, massaging his temple. He certainly didn't look it, and this made the others uneasy. Gomamon looked especially antsy, ready to attack when needed. Myotismon burst into cold, mocking laughter, "No tricks. I'll give each of you one chance to kill me. I won't move. I won't even fight back. Although I doubt Agumon or the Digimon Tamer will. So, the rest of you must play your role as the digidestined and _save the Digital World_. Kill me!"

There was a moment's silence. Nobody dared to move, afraid that this was a trick but curious about what Myotismon meant. Tamer and Agumon never talked much about what was going on, but Myotismon made it clear that they weren't being completely honest. Something they needed to know. Tamer and Agumon held their spot in front of Myotismon. The seconds ticked by and Myotismon began tapping his foot impatiently, "I'm waiting."

Sora looked down at her partner Biyomon, and she looked back expectantly. She didn't know what was going to happen, whether it was a trick or Myotismon really was planning on letting them kill him. If this was their only chance, then they should take it. But the way Tamer talked about Myotismon suggested he was genuinely afraid of the vampire digimon. Even now, the boy and the dinosaur who laughed in the face of Etemon, and made fun of Devimon were too scared to make a move against Myotismon. Then there was the other problem. They all had their reservations against killing - and seeing Tamer's own disregard for death worried them. They did not want to be like him - kids who could see another creature suffering and be unmoved by its please for mercy. The vampire chuckled, "Is this fear I'm sensing? Well, that shouldn't be surprising. None of you have ever killed before. Do I have to goad you into fulfilling your destiny?"

"Sora?" Biyomon whispered. She nodded and reached for her digivice. It was now or never. They may never get a chance like this again, "Let's go."

Biyomon nodded and raced in, "Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

Invigorated by her actions, the others charged in with her.

"Gabumon! Digivolve to! Garurumon!"

"Tentomon! Digivolve to! Kabuterimon!"

"Palmon! Digivolve to! Togemon!"

"Gomamon! Digivolve to! Ikakumon!"

Myotismon stood unflinching before the five champions, although he offered each of them a curt smile that was more unnerving than polite. It knew more than it gave away, and that's what made it so terrifying. Sora refused to be cowed by that fear and looked at Birdramon - she knew her partner could beat him. She believed in her and the warmth that thought provided welled up inside her. Her crest glowed a bright red light and Birdramon roared, "Birdramon! Digivolve to! Garuda-"

"Pepper Breath!"

The blast of fire struck Birdramon mid-digivolution, and she learned first hand just how painful Agumon's attack could be. And how a rookie level digimon like him could so easily go against stronger foes - there was a lot of power behind that blast and it really hurt. Sora gasped in disbelief and stared at Agumon, "What are you doing?"

"She got in my way," Agumon said sheepishly. Myotismon laughed, "Really, is that what you call it?"

"Guys…don't…fight him. That's…what he wants," Tamer explained anxiously as he moved in front of Myotismon to face them, still swaying from side to side. Sora ran to her partner and helped her up, "So you attacked her?"

"She'll be fine. Agumon wasn't…he pulled…his punch. A few…minutes and she'll be…" Tamer sank to his knees, clutching at his head, "Ah!"

"Hey! Tamer! Snap out of it!" Joe called out to him. Something was definitely wrong, but Tamer continued to speak, "You…can't…beat him."

"They can't beat me or you won't let them?" Myotismon asked from behind Tamer. Agumon bore his claw again, "You better stop talking, right now!"

"It's a fair question, don't you think?" Myotismon mused between his laughs, casting his gaze to Izzy, "You. You're the most knowledgeable. At least, that's what you've devoted yourself to ever since you learned the truth of your family. Wouldn't you agree that is a fair question?"

Izzy's mind began racing with a different set of questions and one stood out louder than the rest: how did Myotismon know about his family? Kabuterimon sensed his partner's hesitation and asked, "Izzy, what's wrong?"

"You hesitate. That's fine. You're not the only one. She hesitates too," Myotismon's gaze moved to Mimi and Togemon, "She talks of helping others and doing the right thing, but she stumbles and falters when it counts. How self-serving. Be honest with yourself: do you really think you can beat me when you can't find the resolve to sing? The girl who crumbles at the first sign of difficulty?"

Mimi took a step away, "How do you know about that?"

"And the two brothers. The older relaxed brother whose protective attitude hides his dependence on the younger, and the younger carefree brother whose innocence serves as a mask for his own unmatched hate. Or perhaps I have it the other way around? Does it even matter? Nothing can fix the rift that keeps you two apart," Myotismon cackled. Matt jumped in front of TK and growled, "If you got something to say, then say it to my face."

"Guys! Don't…listen! He gets…in…your head!" Tamer mumbled. They were too unnerved by Myotismon's words to hear him. Even Tamer could be seen having a hard time ignoring the next part, "Yes. Tell them the same thing. Over and over again. Tell me, did that work for your friends? Your team? Oh, that's right. They're not around any more. Yet you still spout that nonsense - 'don't listen'. As if it would help them. And now you lead more to slaughter. Will they thank you?"

"Shut up," Tamer growled, still clutching his head. Myotismon continued to smile, "Why do you continue down your path? You know what awaits you at the end of it. But you still carry on - perhaps you two really want to die? Or perhaps it's the headaches. A being like you, so sensitive to the flow of destiny that even the slightest change throws you."

"What's the plan, Tamer?" Agumon asked. Tamer stayed on the ground, "Don't…have…one…"

"Then I shall grant you a swift death!" Myotismon cackled.

"I've heard enough! Garurumon! Shut him up!" Matt called out to his partner. The white wolf charged ahead with his jaw wide open to shred Myotismon to pieces. It stopped when Tamer threw himself in his way, "NO!"

Garurumon crashed into the floor to keep himself from crashing into the goggle headed boy. Izzy looked on, "Tamer! What are you doing?"

"Don't…FIGHT HIM!" Tamer screamed desperately from the floor.

"Why?"

"Because…not…supposed…to happen!" Tamer hissed, before turning to Myotismon, "Get…lost!"

"You won't even allow a chance to stop me from doing what I'm about to do. How long are you two going to try and preserve an order that has long since fallen apart?" Myotismon sneered, finally stepping forward to grab the boy by the collar of his shirt, "I could snap your neck right here and end this entire struggle in one move. I could kill you all and end this long, bitter, endless conflict. I could just trap you here; let you wander aimlessly in this ever-shifting room of infinity for all eternity. But that's not what's supposed to happen, is it?"

"You're the one who goes out of his way to change things," Agumon hissed. The orange dinosaur moved to attack, but Tamer held out his hand to stop him, "Don't!"

"He'll kill you!" Agumon pleaded, still in mid step. Tamer gave that sentiment a lot of consideration before he replied, "If he…was going to…kill me…he'd have…done it…already. So…why haven't…you?"

Myotismon released the boy with a shove into Agumon, "All in due time. Remember this moment digidestined. This was the moment you could have stopped what's about to happen, but you didn't because Agumon and the Digimon Tamer wouldn't let you."

Myotismon hovered off the ground and whirled his cape around him, disappearing into air while cackling madly. With him gone, Tamer looked like he was starting to recover. Agumon was relieved to see his partner was okay, until he realized they now had to face the frustration of the digidestined. Tamer readjusted his goggles over his head while Izzy opened the questioning, "What was that? We're supposed to stop Myotismon, so why didn't you let us?"

"Aren't you guys listening to me!? He likes to play games and mess with your head. If he tells you to do something, odds are you shouldn't do it!" Tamer growled at Izzy, still massaging his head, "He…really shouldn't have tried to do that."

"Do what?" Izzy asked.

"You don't need to know," Tamer replied. The two boys seethed angrily at each others while Joe ran to check Biyomon, "Biyomon, are you alright? You're not hurt too bad are you?"

"Agumon hit me with a fireball! What do you think!?" Biyomon snapped, massaging the spot on her back where she was hit, "How did one hit knock me back down to Biyomon?"

"Digimon are vulnerable during the digivolution process," Agumon explained, "It's a small window of opportunity but if you nail a good hit, you can knock them back down a level or two."

The explanation didn't offer any solace to Biyomon and she continued to glare at the two of them. Even Sora was brought to leering at Tai. She couldn't understand why he would do it. He was always crazy, but to attack his friends? What was wrong with him? Was it because of Myotismon?

Tamer sighed, "It doesn't matter. If you can still move, then we need to get going. Myotismon will-"

"No! I was willing to give it a pass before but not this time. What is going on? You said that fighting isn't what's supposed to happen! Why not? What does that even mean? It's 'not supposed to happen'!" Matt shouted, jumping in front of the Tamer with his arms spread out, "What aren't you telling us!?"

"Nothing that you need to know," Tamer spat back, "Get out of my way."

The two boys leered at each other, both looked ready to raise fists until Mimi played the peacemaker, "Geez. Boys. Will you guys chill out! If you're going to fight each other, just do it already. Get it out of your systems. But Tamer, I think it's about time you start letting us in."

"Mimi," Tamer shot her a betrayed look but she returned it with a disapproving glare, "I haven't said a word to the others, but maybe it's time you started talking."

"About what?" Palmon asked her partner curiously, "Mimi, did something happen between you two?"

"I promised not to say a word," Mimi replied, "And I won't. But I do think it's time you started letting people in. I'm sorry, but I'm with Matt on this one."

"I agree. What aren't you telling us? Myotismon knew an awful lot about us for someone who's never met us. How did he know all that!? And you! You looked ready to pass out! What happened?" Izzy's mind raced with questions and concerns, but it didn't keep him from thinking straight. Most would have cracked under personal revelations but it helped him to think more clearly - and he chose which questions he asked carefully amidst the unending torrent of riddles and puzzles. Kabuterimon added, "And why did you guys attack Birdramon!? Have you completely lost it?"

Tamer looked nervous, and circled around to face each of them. He saw the worry, the fear, and the anger in each of them. They couldn't tell what he was thinking, but he looked genuinely afraid. And the fear finally made him relent, "Okay. I'll try to explain this as simply as I can."

"Do we have time?" Agumon asked anxiously. Tamer shook his head; "It'll take more time if I don't tell them. Besides, I owe Mimi this one."

Everyone glanced at Mimi briefly, curious about what he was referring to. They listened carefully as he began, "Imagine that you read a book all the way through. The book wasn't great, but it wasn't bad. It was exactly what it needed to be. Picture that."

"Does the book have pictures?" TK asked, "Are the pictures cool? I like books that have pictures."

"I don't think that's pertinent to the matter at hand," Izzy answered. Tamer cleared his throat to get their attention, "If I can continue. Imagine someone who reads the same book, but they don't like it. They want to make changes - so they start ripping out pages and putting in blanks ones to rewrite the story. Or they destroy whole chapters to make it fit the new story they want to make. And they think the new story is better than the original - but they've done so much damage to the book in the process that the book is now falling apart at the seams and it looks like a mess."

"My parents would kill me if they ever saw me doing that to one of my books," Joe commented quietly. Mimi giggled, "I'd lend you some of mine. I never open the ones for school anyway. They're so boring and they always make you answer the questions at the back of the chapter."

"I'll say," Matt nodded his agreement. Tamer sighed, "Guys, the point is that Myotismon is the guy trying to make the changes. Agumon and I are the ones trying to make sure things play out the way they're supposed to. And you guys are the ones who are supposed to fight him. If he continues to have his way, the entire book falls apart. Only in this case, it's not a book - it's the Digital World. It's your world. It's every world that falls apart."

"So what you're saying is Myotismon is trying to change the future? Well what does that matter? The future is unpredictable - there are literally an infinite number of possible outcomes for any given moment," Izzy stated. Tamer muttered something under his breath about lesser life forms and continued, "Not true. Some things are set in stone and have to happen - like not fighting Myotismon until we get to the gate. A change on that scale would cause a ripple effect that drastically alters the future. Some things are inconsequential, like what you eat for breakfast or when you decide to take a shower - the overall impact is so small that it's negligible. But THIS is set in stone. We don't fight him until we get to the gate."

"What, are you a time traveller trying to protect the future you come from? How do you know all this?" Kabuterimon asked as a joke. Tamer shook his head, "No. My people were just sensitive to the flow of destiny. That's how we got one of our names: the Guardians of Destiny. We can tell what is, what should be, what cannot, and what must not. And looking at the last two always makes my head hurt."

"Let's say any of this is true, how are we supposed to trust you?" Joe demanded, stamping his foot on the ground, "I mean, how do we know that's what supposed to happen? For all we know, you're lying to us to keep us from doing something that we're not supposed to do. You already attacked Birdramon because you decided to NOT tell us that we don't fight Myotismon until he's at the gate. And if that were true, he's already shown he has some idea of what's supposed to happen. How do we know we're not walking into a giant trap? He's already made it clear that he doesn't want to do things the way you want them to happen. Besides, you said it yourself. We 'fight' him. You never said we beat him."

Silence followed Joe's rambling and it broke only when Gomamon commented, "That's my Joe."

"I said it before. Someone has to think about these things," Joe quietly mused. Izzy nodded, "Joe's observations are astute and raise several concerns. How can we know that we're supposed to succeed? If we're predetermined to fail, then it feels like hanging back and letting them through would be the safer alternative. However, if we're supposed to win - then why didn't you let us kill Myotismon? It seems like that would have moved things along faster. And there's one other pressing concern. If any of us were supposed to die, would you ever tell us? 'How it's supposed to happen', right?"

"I can't tell you," Tamer said, "The last time someone learned things they weren't supposed to, it ended horribly. You just need to trust us. Isn't that right Agumon?"

"He's talking about the war," Agumon said in annoyance, pressing forward, "You've really got to stop being so cryptic. It's annoying and isn't really helpful."

"So what I'm to understand is, digimon like Myotismon learned information about how they would die and set about trying to change destiny. Within that context, the actions of both Etemon and Devimon make perfect sense," Izzy mulled over loudly. Thinking out loud helped the others realize what he was thinking, but this was one thing they'd preferred him to keep to himself. It didn't help that neither Agumon nor Tamer answered. Was one of them supposed to die? The question had Matt snarl, "Are you taking us to get killed?"

"No, Marc," Tamer finally snapped, "But if you want a tip about what's supposed to happen, then here's the biggest one I can give: help out your friends when they need you."

"You and I are not friends," Matt hissed and Tamer said, "I never said we were."

"WILL YOU TWO JUST KISS ALREADY?" Agumon yelled, turning to walk away, "You fight like an old married couple!"

Agumon's comment had them back away from each other, both boys looking bashful at Agumon's comment. The little dinosaur stopped just a short distance away, turned and offered his claw, "Hands again. We don't want to get lost."

Matt scoffed, "Just take us to where we need to go. So we can do whatever it is we're supposed to do."

"Okay, but you guys might want to change back. The hallways will be kind of cramped going forward," Agumon said unapologetically. The champion level digimon looked at each other, briefly contemplating if hitting him would be a good idea but let it go. They continued entertaining the idea of punching the two as they regressed back to their rookie forms, if only to make themselves feel better.

Tamer and Agumon took the lead again - guiding them through the ever twisting room. They occasionally stopped to walk off the walkway, turn around, walk sideways up stairs, or took a blind jump backwards. It seemed odd and, for a moment, it seemed like the duo was just leading them in circles. Eventually, they walked to the end of the walkway and emerged in a darkened study illuminated only by a single lit candle on a desk. The dancing flames revealed empty shelves along the walls and the books scattered along the floor, many of them were left open with various scribbles in the margins. Torn pages were scattered around the floor, yellowed with time and from being read. Agumon remarked, "This place has seen better days."

"I'll say," Tamer sighed, examining the bookshelves quietly as he walked along the wall. Tentomon glanced around, "I don't see anything that looks like a gate."

Izzy came up with a solution right away, "Something that important sounds like it would be hidden to protect its contents. Is it concealed behind a hidden another illusion like Piximon's place?"

"Yes, it's hidden. No, not by an illusion. My people went simple for this one. Anyone who went looking for it would look for illusions or holograms. We just hid it behind a bookshelf," Tamer said as he retrieved a book from the middle most shelf. The entire wall sprang to life and slowly slid open to reveal a hidden passage behind it. A long staircase lay just beyond the hidden passage and led down into a cave.

"Spooky," Palmon commented in the eeriest voice she could produce - staring into the tunnel as it disappeared into darkness.

"Do you think Myotismon keeps the lights off to help make this place even creepier?" TK half joked, half whimpered.

"He's a vampire," Agumon reminded them - walking down into the darkness, "He hates the light."

"Speaking of light, shouldn't you bring a one? It's pitch black down there! You could trip and fall! Or worse, what if there's a trap!" Joe worriedly shouted at the orange dinosaur, "Hey! Are you even listening?"

"Come on Joe! Adventure time!" Tamer whisked the candle off the desk, and pursued his partner into the darkness. Joe groaned, "Am I the only one with a really bad feeling about this?"

"No," Gabumon grumbled.

They descended into the darkness, the only light coming from the candle in Tamer's hand. As they descended, they could hear a soft rumble of noise. As if hundreds of digimon were being really loud and really quiet at the same time. The stairs led them to a balcony that oversaw a large room packed with hundreds of digimon- many they'd never encountered before - standing in marching formations within a large room. It was difficult to make out anything besides how large and intimidating they were in the dark. Carved into the walls of the room were large statues of more gargoyles dressed as Devimon, casting their gaze forward at attention. Various wires and cables ran along the walls, connecting the gate to various computers and glowing containers.

Before the parade stood Myotismon alongside an entourage of digimon - Phantomon and Wizardmon they recognized. There were other large and intimidating digimon present there - one that looked like a giant spider wearing a yellow mask, another that looked like a man clad in leather with fire for hair, and another that looked like a black Tyrannomon. The one that stood out most was a small white cat wearing large yellow gloves with claws - an adorable little creature that looked out of place amidst such frightening digimon. Myotismon raised an arm as he spoke, "This is our time, the moment where we spread our cause and fulfill our destiny. Beyond this gate, the last gift the Ancients left for us, is another world - one prime for conquering like the Digital World before it. Together, we will usher in a new era! One free from the shackles of our so called destiny!"

There were roars of approval from the digimon assembled as Myotismon finished, "Come! Let us go forward in defiance of our fates!"

He stepped aside to reveal a stone slab with a large square divided into nine spaces. To the side, the rows were labeled with one star, two star, and three stars. The columns were marked by the drawings of a lion, a monkey, and a centaur. Myotismon produced a set of cards from his suit and aligned them carefully into each of the nine spaces, "Gate! OPEN!"

The room rumbled as the doors parted to reveal an open void of endless glowing light, with beams so bright that they blinded everyone who looked into it. Tamer took this chance to cover his eyes with his goggles while everyone else was forced to raise their arms to shield out the light. Winds raged and howled, sucking in anything that was close by. Myotismon turned to his army and declared, "Go forth my vanguard! Secure the world beyond for our advance."

"NO!" Mimi screamed out loud, giving away their position. The cheers died down and the assembled digimon turned to face the digidestined. Myotismon looked up at them and sneered, "Rear guard. Defensive positions."

"Now can we fight?" Gomamon mockingly asked. Tamer nodded, "Yeah. Go for it!"

"That's all I need! Go Gabumon!" Matt roared. Their digimon partners ran forward and the children's digivices hummed to life.

"Gabumon! Digivolve to! Garurumon!"

"Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

"Tentomon! Digivolve to! Kabuterimon!"

"Palmon! Digivolve to! Togemon!"

"Gomamon! Digivolve to! Ikakumon!"

The champion level digimon and Agumon stood at the base of the stairs ready to attack. The digimon in the back of the formation assembled a line to protect their advancing comrades. They disappeared into the glow of light as they marched into the gate, with the digimon beside Myotismon following suit, until only Wizardmon and the white cat remained. Myotismon looked at the digidestined and their partners, "Well, look who's finally decided to do something. Well, most of you anyway. I see the smallest still avoids the fighting."

TK stepped backwards uncomfortably, still holding Tokomon in his arms. Matt stepped in front of his little brother and shouted at the vampire, "If you want him you'll have to go through me!"

"That's the plan," Myotismon snapped his fingers. His rear guard advanced on their digimon. Agumon looked to Tamer, "Your call, chief."

"Crew expendable. Just don't touch Myotismon," he replied. Agumon nodded and ran in first.

"Howling Blaster!"

"Electroshocker!"

"Needle Spray!"

"Harpoon Torpedo!"

"Meteor Wing!"

The two groups of digimon clashed - the partners of the digidestined and the digimon in the rear of Myotismon's army. In their ranks were Gotsumon, Gazimon, Bakemon, and Tyrannomon. The smaller digimon fell behind their larger counterparts and let them take the bulk of the fight. The Tyrannomon had them outnumbered but were no match for the combined efforts of the digidestined's partners. They traded blows and each of the champions paired off against another enemy as the fight carried out. As the smallest member, Agumon zipped around going after the weaker rookies. One Gazimon learned this the hard way when Agumon set him ablaze with his pepper breath.

The Gazimon screamed as it died and Agumon raced to next digimon in his path - a Bakemon distracted by a fight between Kabuterimon and another Tyrannomon. It was looking for an opening to get at Kabuterimon, but Agumon used his claws to stab it in the back before it could get that chance. A Gotsumon saw the chance to get the orange dinosaur from behind, but was struck from the back by a kick from the Tamer. Unfortunately for him, the rock digimon was much harder than his leg and he hurt himself as much as he hurt the Gotsumon. The Gotsumon stumbled while he fell back to the ground, "Argh! Not a good idea! OW! Okay, I won't do that again."

Tamer staggered briefly, holding onto his leg in pain but Agumon kept any digimon from getting too close.

Meanwhile, the other champions were able to make quick work of the Tyrannomon. Garurumon especially was able to rush through the center of their formation and scared the smaller rookies by baring his fangs. The Bakemon weren't so easily intimidated and tried to swarm the unsuspecting wolf digimon. At the last second, Garurumon leapt aside and Togemon hopped in his place, "Needle Spray!"

The large cactus spun in place and released a spray of needles over everything. The ghost digimon scattered and this created a gap in the line of Myotismon's digimon. And through that was a straight shot at Myotismon. Matt pointed it out first and shouted, "There's our chance! Sora! Digivolve Birdramon!"

"Got it!" Sora and Birdramon said together. Birdramon swooped through the gap in the line towards Myotismon. Sora's crest began to glow and Birdramon underwent her digivolution process. Myotismon observed the spectacle unamused, folded his arms and commanded his servants, "Deal with them."

"On it," Wizardmon and the white cat said together. They rushed forward to try and stop Birdramon in her tracks. As they were about to strike, Agumon and Tamer appeared along side her. Agumon tackled Wizardmon and Tamer threw himself in the way of the cat's attack. Agumon managed to pin Wizardmon to the ground and the two grappled with each other. Meanwhile, that cat's claws dug into Tamer's stomach and he yelped in pain. He used whatever strength he had to latch onto the cat and body slam her into the ground.

With her path clear, Birdramon cried out, "Birdramon! Digivolve to! Garudamon!"

Garudamon continued forward and tried to punch Myotismon with her giant claw. She struck Myotismon with enough force to shake the cave and kick up a layer of dust that obscured the room. When the dust settled, they gasped in awe at the improbable. Myotismon was standing fine, holding back Garudamon's strike with his hand and looking no worse for wear. If anything, he looked bored and sighed, "Pathetic. I expected more from you digidestined."

He flicked his wrist, and managed to slam Garudamon to the ground. She shrieked in pain, and then Myotismon lifted her up to slam her again. And again. Myotismon laughed manically and this drove Sora to go out and help her partner, "NO! Garudamon!"

"No, you don't!" the white cat from crawled from under the injured Tamer to stop Sora in her tracks, "You won't get past me. In the name of Lord Myotismon, surrender and die!"

"Don't you mean 'or die'?" Togemon asked.

"No, I don't," the cat snarled with glee. The cactus blinked, then remarked, "Oh! Hey! A cat! A little late, but I called it!"

The cat dropped from its ready stance to shoot her a confused look, "What?"

"Togemon! Go help Garudamon!" Mimi said to her partner.

"You too Kabuterimon!" Izzy said. The two champions hurried forward but the little cat leapt into the air and struck them both down with one blow each. The two digimon regressed to their rookie forms and collapsed to the ground. The cat landed gracefully between them and licked the tip of her claw playfully, "Who's next?"

Izzy and Mimi called out to their unconscious partners while Myotismon slammed Garudamon on the ground one more time and she regressed to Yokomon. Sora tried to run past the cat digimon but was kicked to the ground for her efforts, "Nice try, but you'll have to try harder to get past a slick cat like me."

"Who is this digimon?" TK wailed out. The cat looked TK in the eye and introduced herself, "The name is Gatomon. I might look like a sweet, adorable kitty but I'm as ferocious as a wildcat. But why tell you and when I can show you little boy! YAH!"

The cat leapt through the air with such speed that she was in front of TK in the blink of an eye. Matt tried to move between the two, but was unable to keep up with Gatomon's pure speed. With no one else to help him, Tokomon leapt out of TK's arms to protect his partner. He was clearly outmatched - Gatomon took out Tamer, Kabuterimon, and Togemon with ease. But he still had to try, even if it cost him. He'd done this once before and he was prepared to do it again. And part of him could feel TK's faith in him.

"Tokomon! Digivolve to! Patamon!"

"What?" the light of the digivolution caught Gatomon off guard and let the little rookie tackle the cat to the ground. He had her pinned and he called out, "I won't let you hurt him."

"Yeah! Kick her butt Patamon! You can do it!" TK cheered on his partner. The encouragement helped drive Patamon forward, and he held her down with all his strength to head butt her. She had the same idea and the two hit their heads against each other, "Get off!"

The two locked their heads against each other, trying to knock the other back. In that moment, they locked eyes intensely. Gatomon was stumped, there was no way a digimon like her could be having such a hard time knocking a rookie digimon like Patamon away. But he had her pinned and she couldn't push him off her. She could see the ferocity in his eyes, the desire to protect his human partner - a sense of camaraderie she shared with only one other. He only fell away when Wizardmon swung his staff like a golf club and threw Patamon back into TK, "GET OFF HER!"

"Thanks Wizardmon," Gatomon hopped up to her feet and threw out her claws again.

"BACK OFF MY BROTHER!" Matt growled. He hadn't forgotten about Izzy's musings - the possibility that one of them might die. Seeing the danger TK and Patamon were in had him acting on pure brotherly instinct. He would kill anyone who tried to harm his little brother. Garurumon broke away from the fight to charge at both Wizardmon and Gatomon. The two of them fell away to keep their distance from the large wolf, with Gatomon commenting, "Dogs. I hate dogs."

"Wizardmon! What are you doing? I thought you were on our side!" Matt yelled as he ran behind Garurumon to TK and Patamon.

"I'm sorry. I'm not on your side. I've never been on Digimon Tamer's side. And I'm not on Myotismon's side either. I live strictly for Gatomon," Wizardmon stated quietly, "Everything else is second to me. But make no mistake, Tamer has always been aware of this. As has Master Myotismon. He tolerates my presence because he knows I will never go against Gatomon's wish to serve him."

"I don't think they want your life story Wizardmon," Gatomon commented wryly.

"Apologies, Gatomon. I will hold my tongue in the future," Wizardmon bowed, causing the cat to sigh, "Why are we friends again?"

"Because you saved my life and I owe you a debt of gratitude," Wizardmon answered.

"Right now, I really regret doing that," Gatomon replied.

"You always say that."

"I always mean it," Gatomon answered, and the two chuckled briefly. Myotismon cleared his throat, "If I may interrupt! Relieve Digimon Tamer of the eighth tag."

"Yes sir," the two said together, charging towards the Tamer.

Tamer was on all fours, clutching at his stomach while Agumon fought off the remainder of Myotismon's army. There were plenty of them lying unconscious on the ground, but it didn't seem to lower the amount of digimon still fighting. Izzy and Mimi were beside the partners while Ikakumon and Garurumon fended off any other digimon trying to attack. It was up to Matt and Joe now to keep the attacking digimon at bay. TK and Patamon were safe now, since the team of Gatomon and Wizardmon had left him alone. But now they had their sights squarely on Tamer. As he followed their movements, he saw Sora kneeling over Yokomon and bawling her eyes out. Beside her was Myotismon, amusedly watching the scene play out before him.

Tamer looked up and managed to block the first of Wizardmon's attacks, but his injured leg kept him from moving fast enough to either block or dodge the next. He yelped as Wizardmon struck him in the back of the head with his staff and he fell unconscious. Agumon tried to help but was knocked back by Gatomon. Try as he might, the digimon was just too tired to keep up with her faster movements - and he'd be beaten down if he tried to digivolve to Greymon. He was left with no choice but to tank Gatomon's hits for as long as he could.

"Got it," Wizardmon declared as he produced the empty tag from Tamer's pocket. Myotismon nodded, "Good work. Now finish them off."

"Yes sir," Wizardmon extended out his palm and a ball of fire formed it. At the same time, Myotismon looked down on Sora and Yokomon. A trail of red light appeared in his hand and extended downwards like a rope. He raised it overhead in preparation to deliver a killing blow to Sora and Yokomon.

Joe watched the fight around him. They were about to be killed. Digimon Tamer lay motionless and Sora was too distracted by Yokomon to notice anything was wrong. Izzy and Mimi's partners were out cold. As for TK and Patamon, there was no way Matt would ever let Garurumon stray too far. His instincts as an older brother kicked in and now his only concern was protecting TK. No, it had to be him. It was his responsibility to help his friends and he would do whatever it took.

"Ikakumon! Save her!" Joe cried out.

He was so distracted by the danger his friends were in, that he didn't notice his crest glowing a hue of gray. The lights shined brighter and caught everyone by surprise. The energy welled up inside and burst out in beams of light that let their partners glow.

"Ikakumon! Digivolve to! Zudomon!"

Ikakumon vanished, replaced by a large walrus with orange fur wearing a green shell and belts around his arm and chest. Unlike Ikakumon, he walked upright and wielded a large steel hammer that crackled with electricity. The newly digivolved Ultimate level digimon moved quickly, despite his immense size.

Zudomon slammed the ground with his mighty hammer, "Vulcan's Hammer!"

Sparks of electricity flew from the hammer and travelled along the ground towards Wizardmon and Gatomon. The ground cracked and popped as the current surged, singeing the two digimon as they narrowly moved out of its path. With a chance to move freely, Agumon moved back to Tamer's side and held out his arms to protect his partner.

Zudomon swung his hammer again and sent another blast of electricity towards Myotismon. The blow hit hard and sent Myotismon sliding back some distance. They watched in awe as Myotismon looked genuinely scared, backing away from Sora and Yokomon.

Wizardmon and Gatomon regrouped behind Myotismon, nervously glancing at Zudomon. Gatomon asked, "What do we do? I don't think this was supposed to happen."

"Which is exactly what we want to happen. How else are we to alter fate? We have the eighth tag and the eighth crest. We go to the Real World and begin our conquest," Myotismon hissed slyly, still smiling, "Leave them here."

"The eighth crest! You have it?" Joe asked. Myotismon smiled, "You'd be surprised what I have. Like knowledge of what lies ahead, and how to stop it. That future can't come to pass if I kill everyone involved."

"So you're going to kill the last digidestined!?" Zudomon asked. Myotismon's smile widened to reveal his razor sharp fangs, "This eighth crest is the first step to achieving that goal. Gatomon. Wizardmon. Let's go."

"What about the rear guard?" Gatomon asked. Myotismon laughed, "They will follow us once they've dealt with the digidestined. Let's go."

Myotismon turned to leave but Zudomon went after him, "No you don't!"

Two of the remaining Tyrannomon jumped in his way. They knew they wouldn't stand a chance; they were practically outclassed by the Ultimate. Still, it would slow the digimon down and buy their master time to escape - that was reason enough for the suicidal dive. The attacks connected and both Tyrannomon perished. Zudomon smashed the floor with his hammer - and the blast cracked the ground and shook the cave. Myotismon, Gatomon, and Wizardmon moved out of the way of the electricity. They took one last mocking smile at the digidestined before disappearing into the glowing gate.

It rumbled again, and the stone doors started closing. Myotismon's rearguard dropped everything they were doing and started fleeing through the gates. Zudomon took position by the closing doors, and this prompted those who couldn't get through to turn and run. The ultimate tried to wedge his hammer between the closing doors to keep it open. The doors stalled and shook against the hammer, eventually popping it out of its place with enough force to dent the wall behind them. Zudomon then tried to keep the door open with its bare arms but it slipped through their fingers and slammed shut.

There were no cheers of victory. There was no joy to be had. Yokomon, Tentomon, and Palmon were still out cold. Zudomon regressed back to Bukamon and Garurumon changed back to Gabumon. Patamon, Gabumon, and Agumon were the only ones to retain their rookie forms and still stay conscious. That offered little solace when they considered Myotismon, Wizardmon, and Gatomon had escaped through the gate with an army. To find the Eighth Digidestined in their world. And there was no way for them to get through - no way for them to open the gate without The Digimon Tamer. Every second he was out cold was another second they were free to do who knows what in their world. Myotismon's words from before echoed in their mind. They had one chance to kill him and prevent him from doing what he was going to do, and Tamer refused to let them. They shuddered to think about what he was doing now, in their world.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** And so we've concluded Chapter 21. If you loved it, leave a review to let me know! I usually reply in a day or two. I also welcome constructive criticism and speculation on future chapters! Unless you leave a guest review. Then I'll respond in the next Author's Notes. I'll be taking another two-week break, because I have conferences to attend for work. Come back in two Fridays on April 15, 2016 at 5 PM CST for another rousing chapter of The Tamer! And now for some teasers for next time! Much like before, these are in no particular order and were pulled randomly from the next chapter!

"Tai's sister? You mean Tamer has a sister!" Mimi asked.

Tamer growled, "We go through the gate, find the eighth child and kick Myotismon's butt."

Izzy countered logically, "Add to the current weather and factor in the rate snow melts, and I'd hypothesize that it's only been a few hours."

"Joe, there's a giant monster rampaging towards us. I'm not going to buy a half baked explanation like that!" Mr. Fujiyama scolded them.

"There were two monsters!" TK declared.


	22. Summer Camp

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hey folks! Thanks again to everyone who left a review. To those of you who just followed and favorited the story, I hope it continues to be to your liking. More special mention goes to Ace Spiritwell for making the cover art. Give their fanfiction a read and their deviantart account a look. Seriously, they do good work. Also, this is a friendly reminder that we'll be going into some dark territory in the chapters ahead. Next, I have reply for a guest review:

 **Guest:** I'm glad you like the story so far but, as I've said before, this is a nine-year plan. I promise Zeromaru will get a passing mention in the chapters to come, but don't expect an appearance for a while.

That's all I have for now, so let's start Chapter 22!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 22: Summer Camp**

Hours passed while they sat around in the darkened cave, waiting for the Tamer to wake up. Joe treated his stabs with bandages but made it clear that he wanted some answers out of the boy when he woke up. Zudomon regressed back to his in-training form after growing tired, and hovered around Joe excitedly recounting the feeling of achieving ultimate. He had no idea that he had it in him to kick so many butts. Unfortunately, the mood was defeated and anxious - the digidestined and their digimon divided whatever duties they had to. Joe tended to the unconscious Tentomon, Yokomon and Palmon, but his work was made difficult with Mimi hovering over her partner in worry. Izzy tried to distract himself from their situation by trying to figure out how to open the gate - but there was little he could do without the cards Myotismon used. It also didn't help that there was more of that language he didn't understand. He used some of what he'd learned from Tamer and what he had on his computer, but most of it was guesswork as it used characters he'd never encountered before. Matt and Gabumon congratulated TK and Patamon for holding their own against Gatomon, but fell silent when TK asked why neither of them helped to stop Myotismon. Matt said he wanted to protect his little brother, and TK was relieved. But he also wondered if this meant Matt didn't trust him to take care of himself. And Matt was unable to answer that question.

Sora never left Yokomon's side, staring down at her silently while her mind raced with questions. The same questions they were all thinking - did Tamer know this would happen and had he left it out so that 'what had to happen' would indeed happen? If so, could they trust him for anything ever again? He took them here to stop Myotismon, knowing they would fail.

The fact that Agumon wasn't talking to any of them didn't help.

Time ticked by at a slow pace and every second felt like an eternity. What was Myotismon doing on the other side of the gate, in their world with an army of digimon? How many people had he killed? How many could have been saved had Tamer let them kill him when they had the chance? Would they have even been able to bring themselves to do it?

Tamer groaned as he stirred, "Wizardmon…has a really good arm."

"You're alright!" Agumon said jovially. Tamer tried to stand but his injured leg gave out from under him and he was forced to lean on his partner, "Hey Agumon. Did we win?"

"We lost," Joe explained, "Myotismon, Gatomon, and Wizardmon got through the gate. With an army!"

"Yeah, and he took the tag off you. He had the eighth crest," Bukamon added, with a hint of accusation in his voice. Tamer nodded and motioned for Agumon to help him over to the pedestal, "Then let's go after him and get it back."

"You're awfully calm about this," Matt said suspiciously, "You knew we were going to fail, didn't you?"

"I knew that if you listened to my advice and helped your friends when you were supposed to, we'd be fine," Tamer answered dryly, slumping over the pedestal. Izzy moved aside to let him work, and he traced patterns along the squares, "Let's see if I can still remember how to do this. I've mostly opened gates from one point to another in the Digital World. I've never tried to do one between worlds."

"You knew we were going to fail!" Matt stated again. Tamer continued to trace patterns silently so Joe chimed in, "It would explain why you wouldn't let us kill him back then. You knew we'd fail and that he'd go through the gate, or that we were supposed to fail. And now he's in our world doing who knows what!"

"Is no one listening to the part where I said 'Help out your friends when they need you'?" Tamer asked, still tracing patterns into the pedestal, "Hey TK. Be honest for a second. When Myotismon was escaping through the portal, did Matt help or was he too busy babysitting you?"

"He was trying to help," TK said sheepishly.

"Everyone or just you?" Tamer asked. It was then Sora finally had enough. She didn't care if Tamer was Tai. She didn't care about what 'should happen'. She just wanted to stop things from getting worse. The slap was so loud that it stunned everyone, hurt her hand and knocked him to the floor. He didn't even look surprised when she shot death glares at him, "STOP TRYING TO PASS THE BLAME! It has to happen, it doesn't have to happen! WHO CARES? The fact is, we wouldn't have to fix this if you'd have told us the truth from the beginning. We could have stopped this! Instead, you kept trying to manipulate us into doing whatever it is you're trying to accomplish!"

"Yeah, because the damage of altering the ebb of reality is far worse than anything Myotismon could do," Tamer said calmly from the ground, picking himself up with a grunt, "Believe me, I know. My people thought they could contain the damage of altering reality. And now, I'm the only one left."

"What damage? He'd be dead! We'd be free to go back to our world! Problem solved!" Sora yelled at the top of her lungs. Tamer coughed and said, "You guys don't get it. Imagine a story where the villain dies before the end because a character decides to kill him. What are you going to do about the other half of the story? Answer: nothing! Because it's pages of blank papers with nothing printed on them! And that's the future you'd create if you cause a massive change on that scale!"

"That analogy really falls apart," Izzy frowned, "The future is infinite. Billions of people in our world making any infinite number of choices means anything can happen. Changing one event doesn't mean there won't be a future. There is no fate but what we make."

"Really? Do go on about how the future is entirely in your hands and how changing one thing can't possibly have drastic ramifications such as a total event collapse!" Tamer said, forcing himself to stand up, "But I wouldn't expect you guys to get that. We all have a part to play!"

"Then why us?" Sora asked, "Why do we have to be the ones to do it?"

"Do you honestly think I would know the answer to that? I've been asking that question since I met you! Who picks kids to save the world?" Tamer grunted under his breath, as if he were mocking them. He wobbled slightly but Agumon helped guide him to the pedestal, "Tamer, you really shouldn't be moving."

"I'll be fine Agumon," he replied. After he finished tracing the last pattern into the space, he held out his digivice towards Izzy, "One more thing. I forgot to give this to you Izzy, since we were busy with Myotismon and the Coliseum. But being here just makes the process easier."

The digivice shot a beam of light into Izzy's bag and he added, "I just copied the entire digimon database from our archive into your computer. You now have access to all the data my people acquired about digimon."

"Is this supposed to be an apology?" Izzy asked impatiently, taking his laptop out of its bag to inspect it. Nothing looked different, and it looked to be working properly.

"Just thought it might help you out," Tamer said, before aiming his digivice at the gate, "Digiport Open!"

On command, the stone gates slid open to reveal the blinding light beyond. A strong wind rushed past them, as if the gate itself were trying to swallow them whole. Everyone had to cover their eyes from the light, except TK and Patamon who gazed into it, "It's so pretty."

"Guys! Stop staring at the light!" Matt covered both their eyes with his hands and kept his own eyes shut tight. They could vaguely see the silhouettes of Tamer and Agumon, both making their way to the gate slowly. He said out loud, "I've opened the gate back to your world! To Myotismon."

"How do we know that's where the gate goes?" Joe asked, "How do we know this gate doesn't send us to some other world?"

"That's a good question Joe. I guess you'll just have to trust us," Agumon answered. He continued helping Tamer walk to the gate. They hesitated because Agumon evaded answering the question. Sora asked again, "Why should we trust you? You've misled us before, so how do we know you're not holding out on us now?"

"Okay, you want to know what's supposed to happen next?" Tamer growled, "We go through the gate, find the eighth child and kick Myotismon's butt. Also, one of the digimon who works for him will turn out to be the eighth's partner. I have a few ideas who: Wizardmon, Gatomon, Pumpkinmon, Pagumon, and some others. I don't know who it is though. I also know that a lot of people will get hurt and there will be a lot of damage. That's how things play out. I don't know specifics but Myotismon is doing everything he can think of to avert the outcome where he dies. BUT! He doesn't know anymore than either Agumon or I do. So, we just have to find him and stop him."

"Is there anything else you're not telling us?" Joe asked. Tamer scoffed while Agumon helped them off to the other side, "You're asking whether or not to trust me, when I just opened the gate back to your world. Keep on questioning us if you want, Agumon and I are going to the other side."

"Hey wait!" Joe tried to stop the two, but it was too late. They'd already stepped through the gate. The doors rumbled, and the gate started to close. Everyone looked at the doors in panic then to each other. There was no more time to debate this - they had to go through now. Izzy scooped up Tentomon and Mimi carried Palmon. Sora ran back for Yokomon, and then followed the others through the blinding light. She squeezed through at the last second and heard the doors slam shut behind her.

Cold water washed over her, followed by the familiar sensation of falling through the blinding white light. Everyone screamed as they plummeted before finding themselves standing upright on the ground.

* * *

When the world came into focus, the six kids found themselves standing at the top of the hill outside a cabin. The grass was wet with patches of melting snow scattered around them. Matt was the first one to comment on their surroundings - the trees, the large mountain in the distance, and the warm summer sun. There was really only one explanation, "We're back at camp."

"No way! We're home!" Sora said excitedly.

"So this is your world?" Bukamon asked, "It looks like the Digital World, but something's not quite right about it. It's like…the air's wrong."

"It is? It seems fine to me. Everything's the same," Joe answered. Izzy nodded his head in agreement with Bukamon, "No, he's right. Look! The snow's started to melt. It was fresh when we first went to the Digital World."

"But that takes days! We've been gone for who knows how long," Joe retorted, "It must have been weeks!"

"But it wouldn't take that long for the snow to melt with our climate," Izzy countered logically, "Add to the current weather and factor in the rate snow melts, and I'd hypothesize that it's only been a few hours. Maybe less."

"No, it's not the snow," Yokomon countered, "It's…something doesn't just feel right. It's like, something's different."

"Well, this is our world," Izzy stated, "Which exists parallel to the Digital World. It's entirely possible that you guys are noticing the lack of data in this world. Everything is organic."

"Whatever! Let's just head back to camp and see what's going on with our own eyes!" Matt said, hurrying ahead towards the stairs back down to the main camp. He stopped just short of the first step and looked back at them, "Wait! How are we going to explain our digimon?"

"KIDS! SORA! MATT! JOE! IZZY! MIMI! TK! ARE YOU GUYS UP THERE!?" a voice called from the base of the stairs. Matt followed the voice to see an adult male in a blue striped shirt, jeans, and a pink jacket running to meet them. His hair was a mess and he bore a disheveled look on his face, made more apparent by his glasses hanging loosely off his face. He saw Matt at the top of the stairs and called out to them, "There you kids are!"

"It's Mr. Fujiyama. Our teacher and camp counselor," Matt said in a panic, "Gabumon! Quick! Act like a doll!"

"What?" Gabumon looked at him with confusion. Matt quickly grabbed his partner, "Act like a doll! And Patamon! Stop flying! You'll freak him out!"

"Why? Is it weird?" Patamon swapped a confused look with TK. TK shrugged, "I don't think so. That is what you do, isn't it?"

"Guys! Just pretend to be stuffed animals!" Joe grabbed Bukamon out of the air and covered his mouth before he could protest. Sora, Mimi, and Izzy still carried their unconscious partners limply like toys, so there wasn't much for them to do. Patamon finally nodded and placed himself in TK's arms like a stuffed toy. TK noted the weight and commented, "You're a lot heavier than when you were Tokomon."

"Hey, I'm not fat!" Patamon argued.

"What are you kids doing? Didn't you-what is that smell!?" Mr. Fujiyama reached the top of the stairs and stopped to cover his nose, "What happened to you guys? You smell like you've been rolling around in garbage."

"Oh? We do? Sorry, we were hiking up an uncharted trail!" Matt answered quickly, coming up with that excuse on the fly. Mr. Fujiyama eyed him suspiciously, "A trail? What were you doing that for? Didn't you get the news? We're closing camp early because of the weather. We're taking everyone back to their homes."

"Oh, uh…yeah! We were going to but we got sidetracked when we found these toys on the trail," Matt explained. Mr. Fujiyama took a look at Gabumon, whom Matt struggled to hold in his arms. He was exceptionally heavy for a digimon of his size, and Matt was having a hard time selling the idea that he was a just a stuffed toy, "Who would leave toys at a summer camp? Why don't you kids throw those away? They're dirty and smell funny. Plus, they don't help your own smell. You kids could really use a shower."

"HEY!" Patamon protested aloud. TK quickly covered Patamon's mouth before he said anymore. Mr. Fujiyama looked over at TK's direction and explained to the little boy, "I'm sorry TK, but these toys really need to be thrown away. You don't know where they've been."

"I think what TK's trying to say is he really likes the toy and wants to keep it," Joe answered quickly, holding up Bukamon too, "And so would I!"

"I think we all feel the same way. Just look at how cute they are," Sora said, holding up the unconscious Yokomon nervously. She really wished she didn't have to, and hoped Yokomon wouldn't wake up in the middle of all this. Yokomon's petals bobbed as Sora brought her back in close for a hug, "See?"

Mr. Fujiyama sighed, "Whatever. I don't have time to argue this. Just get your things and head back to the main camp! We'll be doing the final head counts there before we send everyone home!"

"Okay!" they all said together. Sora went with Mimi and Palmon to the girls' cabins, while the guys went to the boys' cabin. The cabin was empty and most of the beds had been cleared out - leaving only two beds unmade with unpacked bags. Mimi and Sora retrieved their bags and hastily packed away anything they'd left out. While they packed, they let their partners lay in bed to recover.

They rejoined the others once they collected their things, still carrying their unconscious digimon but insisting that they were dolls. The two girls had an easier time of it than the boys who were openly mocked by the other boys for playing with dolls. TK in particular was given a hard time for playing with 'baby' toys and was picked on. He tried to push away his bullies but was not as strong because of his small size. For a moment, it looked like Patamon was going to pounce on these kids until Matt decked one of them. He said he would do it again and beat senseless anyone who picked on his brother. They stopped picking on his little brother after that, for which TK was thankful. Matt was glad none of the counselors noticed since they were too busy doing roll call. Sora and Mimi went to rejoin them, until Mimi saw two of her friends giggling among themselves. They'd seen Matt's rescue of his little brother and thought it was cute that a 'cool' kid like him would play with dolls. Mimi ran over to them with Palmon still in hand and said, "Michelle! Terry! It's been so long! I missed you girls!"

"What are you talking about Mimi? We saw you a few minutes ago," the girl named Michelle answered.

"Yeah, before the snow fell. What happened to you? You smell like my dog after he rolls around in the mud," Terry added, covering her nose. Mimi hugged Palmon close, "I didn't think it was that bad…we got lost on a mountain trail and found these toys!"

"Oh! You have one too…and it smells just as bad as you do," Terry said. Mimi had to cover Palmon's mouth to keep her from talking, "Oh, well, you know. It was just so cute, that I couldn't leave it!"

"Did the trail go through the garbage? Because that doll looks like it belongs there," Michelle frowned, before realizing what Mimi just told her, "Wait! You were on the trail with a cutie like Matt? What were you doing with him?"

"He's not that cute. He's kind of a loner and way too overprotective of his little brother. But he is a really good cook," Mimi said recalling her adventures in the Digital World. Michelle and Terry ignored her musings and went along with her into the bus, "Okay! You have to spill! Tell us everything that happened."

While Mimi went off with her friends, Sora rejoined the other digidestined. She got there in time to hear Joe say, "Well, didn't take long for Mimi to adjust to being back in the Real World."

Bukamon mumbled something under Joe's hand but it was inaudible. Joe added, "I'm keeping my hand over your mouth because I know you can't help yourself from talking. And licking my hand isn't going to make me take it off. Seriously. Stop. I can't remember the last time I washed them."

Bukamon made a gagging noise and Joe sighed, "I'm glad no one can hear this."

"Except us," Izzy added. He looked down at his unconscious partner and added, "Tentomon's been asleep for much longer than I'd like."

"They took a really bad beating from Myotismon," Matt commented. TK hugged Patamon, "I'm just glad you're still with me this time Patamon."

Patamon nodded quickly and silently to keep from being detected.

"All the same, I think we can safely assume that very little time has passed since we left for the Digital World," Izzy observed, "Which means Myotismon's hours long head start might have only been good for a few seconds."

"It's still so weird. We were gone for weeks and it's like no time passed at all here," Joe frowned.

"Look at it this way, we won't have to make up any missed school!" Matt proposed.

"What's a school?" Gabumon asked his partner, prompting Matt to cover his mouth. A few kids looked their way, and Matt offered them a nervous smile. Once they looked back, Matt whispered, "Gabumon, you have to be quiet."

His partner nodded, embarrassed for his blunder and fell quiet. The counselors did a quick roll call to make sure everyone was accounted for, before boarding everyone into the buses based on where they lived. To the digidestined's surprise, they all went on the same bus heading back into the city. None of them expected to be going back into the same area around Odaiba - it seemed like a one in a million chance that the six of them would live so close to each other and have never once met each other.

TK and Matt sat together, with their digimon sitting in their laps. Izzy and Joe did the same and Sora shared her seat with Mimi. To her annoyance, Mimi's friends sat around her and asked questions non-stop about what happened with Matt while they explored the trail. Mimi insisted nothing happened, but they demanded to know how she got to spend any time with a cutie like him - and how it ended with them all smelling the way they did. Sora tried to tune them out, but it was impossible knowing that Yokomon was still unconscious on her lap.

The buses moved out of the countryside and into the city along the highway, which slowly filled with traffic from the midday rush hour. While the buses drove, Sora occasionally brushed her hand along Yokomon's head. Yokomon seemed to respond to the last gentle stroke and adjusted to look at her, slowly opening her eyes. Sora covered Yokomon's mouth and pressed a finger against her own lips. Yokomon nodded quietly and Sora smiled. She was glad to see her friend was at least awake now.

Then her mind went to other things. Myotismon was loose, somewhere in the world doing who knows what. And to stop him, they had to find the last digidestined. But where were they supposed to start looking? The world was a huge place. It'd be a safe bet to narrow it down to at least Tokyo, but that was still a lot of ground to cover. Worse, Myotismon's army was out there looking for the last child too. But nothing seemed out of the ordinary - the city was calm and life carried on normally. And that made her nervous - what was Myotismon waiting for?

"Hey Sora! I just realized something," Mimi said, snapping Sora out of her thoughts.

"What is it Mimi?" she asked.

"Where are Agumon and the Tamer?" Mimi asked, and Sora mentally slapped herself for not noticing. Those two went through the gate just ahead of them. So why weren't they at camp with them, and where did they end up?

"Agumon and the Tamer?" Terry asked, "What's that? A new band?"

"Never heard of them," Michelle frowned, lying back in her chair, "Who are they?"

"No! They're not a band; they're a couple of weirdoes we met in…the forest! Yeah! When we got lost on the trail," Mimi said, coming with an excuse she thought would be reasonable to her two friends. They looked at each other in amazement and Terry said, "I think you're the weirdo Mimi. That sun must've gotten to your head."

"Nah! It was the snow!" Michelle joked.

They were broken out of their conversation when the bus hit bump and ground to a sudden halt that lurched them forward in their seats. Mr. Fujiyama scolded the driver and everyone peered around to see what was going on. From where she sat, Sora could vaguely make where they were. It was a street near her old apartment, directly under a walkway that connected the sidewalk across the street. Thinking about it brought back memories of her childhood here.

"What's going on? Why did we stop?" Mr. Fujiyama asked the driver. The driver stammered, "It's not my fault! There was this bright flash of light and then they came out of nowhere. I couldn't stop in time! Honest! It wasn't my fault!"

"What are…oh no," Mr. Fujiyama paused, glaring at the driver, "What did you do?"

"They came out of nowhere! I swear! They were just…there!" the driver pleaded, "It's like they just appeared!"

"Just open the door!" Mr. Fujiyama instructed. The driver complied and went outside with their counselor. He took the time to say, "Kids! Stay in your seats! Nobody look!"

"What's happening?" TK asked. Sora curiously rose out of her chair, and moved down the aisle to the front of the bus. Mimi called out to her, "Sora! We're supposed to stay in our seats!"

She didn't listen and looked out the windshield to where the driver and Mr. Fujiyama were. Lying in the road was a boy with fiery brown hair and a black ensemble under a white cloak. Beside him was an overgrown orange lizard that lay face down. The Digimon Tamer and Agumon. And it all became clear what happened. If the driver was right, then the reason those two didn't appear at the camp was because they were transported here - right in front of a moving bus. Mr. Fujiyama and the driver were both overlooking the two, trying to stir them awake. A small crowd gathered to look on, a few were taking out their phones to make calls while others merely watched the spectacle.

Sora gasped and hurried out of the bus just in time to see Tamer sit up and gasp in panic. He punched the startled Mr. Fujiyama in his face. The motion was so swift and precise that there was no way it wasn't a reflex. Tamer hopped onto his feet, picked up the unconscious Agumon and dashed away into the crowd. Sora called out after them as they ran into the crowd, "Tamer! Agumon! Wait!"

They were gone. The crowd that gathered stared in bewilderment, a sentiment Sora shared. They'd been hit by a bus, and were only knocked out for a second. Then they'd gotten back up and run away like nothing happened. Were they even injured or was this part of Tamer's whole 'things have to happen' mindset. If so, did he stop the bus here for a reason, or was this really one huge cosmic accident?

"TK! Get back on the bus!" Matt's voice called out behind her. She spun around and saw the other digidestined climbing off the bus. TK was the first one to join her, "Was that who I think it was?"

"I think so," Yokomon answered, prompting Sora to quickly cover her mouth, "Shush! You have to pretend to be a doll!"

"Kids! I thought I told you to stay on the bus!" Mr. Fujiyama scolded them, pinching his nose to stem a trickle of blood running down his shirt, "That kid's got a good right hook."

"How did he get here? He came out just ahead of us! Shouldn't he have appeared at the camp?" Sora stared into the crowd. Mr. Fujiyama nudged her, "Kids! Are you listening to me?"

"Sorry, Mr. Fujiyama. That kid looked like a friend of ours," Matt said half-apologetically, "And when we saw who it was, we had to see for ourselves."

"That was your friend? Your friend got hit by a bus, punched me, then ran off," Mr. Fujiyama said. Mimi shrugged, "I'd punch you too if you hit me with a bus."

Mr. Fujiyama scoffed at the remark but was in too much pain to care. Mimi took in their surroundings in the middle of the city and felt oddly at home here but couldn't quite place why. Still taking in her environment, she asked, "Hey, does this place look familiar to any of you? I feel like I've been here before."

"Now that you mention it, this place does bring back memories for some reason," TK said cheerily, "Didn't we use to live here Matt?"

"No, we lived close by though," Matt answered, "I think it was called Highton View Terrace. We moved away four years ago, but I don't remember why we left."

Joe gave them quizzical looks, "You guys don't remember? Well, I guess you wouldn't since you're all younger than me. I used to live here a long time ago too, but my family moved away after the bombing four years ago. They blew up the walkway connecting the sidewalks and part of the road. I remember it was on the news for a while. They called it one of the worst terrorist attacks in Japanese history. Part of the tragedy was that one little girl survived, while another supposedly died in the blast."

"It was Tai," Sora mumbled in realization. Joe's story triggered a memory she'd forgotten. That was when Tai had gone missing, why they thought he was dead. Since they couldn't find a body, they thought he might have been lost in the blast. She could vaguely remember looking out her window the night of the explosion, watching Tai and his little sister Kari out in the street just before the blast. But the memory was incomplete - she pressed harder to remember more but nothing came to mind.

"Wait! You mean Tamer was in that blast?" Joe gasped.

"Tai was, yeah," Sora frowned.

Mr. Fujiyama continued to get the kids attention again, "Kids! We really have to get going. So please get-"

A loud roar interrupted him before he could even finish. Down the street, a large digimon resembling a hairy elephant in armor stomped towards them in a rampage. Yellow patterns were drawn across the armor, culminating in an eye etched across the face of its helmet. Screams and panic followed when it crushed a car underfoot, roaring triumphantly. Mr. Fujiyama looked at the stalled traffic around them and shouted, "-off the bus! Everyone get off the bus and get into one of the buildings!"

From on the bus, Michelle replied, "But you said-"

"I know what I said! Now get off the bus! GO!" he shouted. The kids piled out and he hurried them into one of the nearby stores. He urged them to go further in, away from the windows and out of the reach of the massive monster. When the digidestined refused to budge from their spot, he scolded them, "Kids! What are you doing?"

"That's not good," Joe frowned, still staring at the giant digimon, "What should we do?"

"Who is that digimon? How did we not see that go through the portal? It's huge!" Matt groaned. Gabumon looked at it, "That's Mammothmon. He's a walking mammoth digimon at the champion level. He has missiles in his tusks that he uses as his main weapons."

"Did that doll just talk?" Mr. Fujiyama asked dumbly, pointing at Gabumon. Matt fumbled the digimon in his arms until Joe quickly answered, "Yeah! It has a pull string on the back and it talks when you tug on it!"

"Joe, there's a giant monster rampaging towards us. I'm not going to buy a half baked explanation like that!" Mr. Fujiyama scolded them, "What's a Mammothmon and why did Matt's doll talk!? Wait, do they all talk!?"

"Oh forget this. I'm tired of staying still. Joe! We have to stop Mammothmon!" Bukamon finally forced his way out of Joe's hands, "Come on!"

"Bukamon!" Joe reprimanded his partner while Mr. Fujiyama stared dumbstruck at the floating digimon, "Your doll is flying! How is it flying? Wait! Did it talk? IT TALKED! THE DOLL TALKED AND IT'S FLYING! WHAT IS GOING ON?"

"Wow. He's worse than you Joe," Bukamon joked, pointing at Mr. Fujiyama. Joe sighed, "Don't be rude too!"

"Mr. Fujiyama, you might want to go inside. We don't want you to get hurt," Sora said to their counselor, who still pointed at Bukamon in shock. He looked at her and said, "No! Kids, I don't know what's going on but I'm not leaving you here! Especially with your talking, flying toys! Go inside with the rest of the kids!"

"Tusk Crusher!" Mammothmon shouted from down the street. The tips of his tusks propelled themselves away like rockets aimed straight at them. Everyone scattered in separate directions to avoid the attack, which blew a hole in the sidewalk where they stood moments ago. The sound of the explosion and the following tremor was enough to jolt their remaining digimon awake. Tentomon especially yelped, "What was that!? What's going on?"

"I'm glad you're awake!" Izzy said to his partner while they ran, "I just wish we were in better circumstances!"

Sora and Yokomon ran out into the street where drivers exited their parked cars to make a run through the stalled traffic. Izzy, Tentomon, Joe, and Bukamon were right behind her dashing for the other side of the street. Matt, Gabumon, TK, Patamon, Mimi and Palmon stayed on their side in search of cover while Mr. Fujiyama continued gawking in terror as Mammothmon barreled towards him. She could see Izzy trying to pull him away, but he couldn't get the counselor to budge from his spot. He'd frozen in fear of the giant mammoth about to step on him. Tentomon saw this and charged straight for Mammothmon, "I'll stop him!"

Izzy's digivice sprang to life and the light brought Tentomon to digivolve.

"Tentomon! Digivolve to! Kabuterimon!"

Kabuterimon jumped in front of the two humans and grabbed Mammothmon by the horns, locking the two in place, "No you don't!"

"Freezing Breath!" Mammothmon raised his trunk to Kabuterimon's face and took a deep breath. It was knocked aside by one of Kabuterimon's free hands and it blasted a wave of snow onto the side of a building, covering it like winter. Izzy called out to his partner, "Kabuterimon! Be careful! We don't want to hurt someone!"

"Got it!" Kabuterimon's wings buzzed and he propelled himself forward, pushing Mammothmon back up the street and into the trailer of a semi truck. Thankfully, the street was now clear of other humans and they were free to be a little more reckless. However, they still had to be careful of collateral damage. The digidestined regrouped around Mr. Fujiyama, who stared in disbelief as the battle raged and commented, "It's like something out of Godzilla!"

Mammothmon roared in agony as Kabuterimon carried the large digimon into the air, only to drop it back into the street. He then blasted it with electricity, "Electroshocker!"

Stray bolts of electricity scattered around, many hitting Mammothmon but a few others knocked out traffic lights and brought the streetlights to life. The bolts seemed to paralyze Mammothmon at first, but he quickly got back up and charged Kabuterimon with enough force to kick him back to their side of the street. The fight was already demonstrating itself as too costly, too damaging for the city. Thinking on his feet, Izzy recalled his recent gift from The Tamer and retrieved his laptop. Somewhere in that database was the key to a quick and easy victory against Mammothmon.

While the two champion digimon fought, memories came back to Sora. Memories of the night Tai disappeared. She remembered seeing a fight - two monsters fighting each other with the intention of killing the other. She remembered the flying could also shoot electricity, but she didn't remember the other one being so hairy.

"Does this strike anyone as familiar?" Mimi asked, "I think I've seen something like this before."

"There were two monsters!" TK declared. Matt slapped himself in the face, "That's right! I can't believe I forgot!"

"What is it Matt?" Izzy asked. Matt looked at them, "It was a after the terrorist bombing, when we still lived around here. TK said he saw two monsters fighting but mom said he was probably just dreaming. I totally forgot about it until just now."

"I remember that too," Sora said, "Back when I used to live here. There were two monsters - a flying one that shot electricity. But I don't remember anything about the other one."

"I think I do," Izzy chimed in, still rushing through his laptop for information, "I don't know why, but I remember fire and lightning."

"It was Greymon," Mimi said after a moment of clarity. The realization came to her so suddenly and clearly that she was certain it was a memory, "It was Greymon and another one that looked like a parrot. I remember there was a flash of light when the two attacked each other one last time. And then they were gone!"

The memories flooded back into Sora's mind. She remembered now, awakening in the middle of the night to the sound of a commotion outside. Tired and half-asleep from being awoken so late, she went to her window and saw two digimon fighting out on the street. Greymon and another digimon. The two of them squared off and at their feet were two kids. The Kamiya siblings - Tai and Kari. She remembered cheering on the Greymon, because it looked like it was doing its best to protect the two kids while the other digimon didn't seem to care they were there.

And then the two squared off one last time to deal the finishing blows to each other. Greymon shot fire and the other shot bolts of electricity - the flash of light when the two attacks met lit up the street like it was day. Then nothing. The memory ended at that point and she couldn't remember anything until waking up that morning and learning that Tai was missing.

"That's right!" Joe slapped himself in the forehead, "I remember that too! They were gone and when the police came, they blamed it on terrorists!"

"Found it!" Izzy declared after pouring over an exceptionally large database for the information he needed, "Let's see. Mammothmon. Champion level digimon. Vaccine attribute. Classified into Nightmare Soldier and Nature Spirit Families. Predominant in arctic and temperate environments. Wow, this is extensive. I'll have to give this a read later."

"IZZY!" Kabuterimon called out to his partner.

"Oh right…um…weaknesses include sensitivity to extreme heat and soft underbelly," Izzy read aloud, "Sensitive hearing also makes it susceptible to high frequency noise at exceptional volumes."

"What?" Kabuterimon grumbled, grappling against Mammothmon to keep from being thrown into the ground.

"It means his weak spot is his stomach," Izzy explained.

"Okay, I'll just lift the hundred ton mammoth on his stomach," Kabuterimon answered sarcastically, pushing the large digimon back. Kabuterimon and Mammothmon squared off against each other one more time. Mammothmon took the first step and crushed a fire hydrant. This gave an exit for all the water being kept under high pressure. The mammoth found himself simultaneously flipped on his stomach and drenched in water. Perhaps it was a twist of fate, but Kabuterimon saw his opening and concentrated one more blast of electricity on the soaking digimon's belly, "ELECTROSHOCKER!"

Mammothmon wailed and convulsed as the currents made the shaggy hair stand on end. When it subsided, the digimon turned to data and vanished off the street. Kabuterimon regressed back to Tentomon and scuttled back into Izzy's arms, "Izzy! I got him!"

"A prodigious use of your talents Tentomon!" Izzy remarked proudly.

"Not bad for a bug that just woke up," Matt added slyly. Mr. Fujiyama made his presence known by gawking at the kids, "Kids…I think you have some explaining to do about your toys."

The digidestined looked nervously at their camp counselor, not sure of where to start since their secret was out. He looked just as scared and uneasy as they were, opening and closing his mouth a few times but never once saying a thing. Sirens sounded in the distance and Mr. Fujiyama looked up the street to see police cars coming towards them. He looked back at the kids and scratched his head, before asking, "Are there more of those things?"

Sora nodded sheepishly. He sighed, "And I'm guessing your toys aren't toys. They're…that digi-what's-it you said."

They nodded again. Mr. Fujiyama's nervous expression grew more uneasy and fearful, "They're going to kill me for this. Look, kids. I'm not going to pretend I understand what's going on. But…"

He glanced nervously back at the police cars, now stopped because of all the stalled traffic and empty cars blocking the road. The officers exited their vehicles and made their way on foot to inspect the damage. Mr. Fujiyama finished, "I think this one time, I'm going to look the other way. You guys go get yourselves home back to your parents. Here, have some money for the subway."

He withdrew his wallet and handed them several yen bills. Matt hesitantly took the money and asked, "What are you-"

Mr. Fujiyama cut him off, "The police are going to be asking questions. I know what I saw and I'm more than ready to lie to keep you kids out of the big house. That's my job as an adult. But who knows what anyone else saw. And the police are going to have a lot of questions when that gets out. And who knows who else will come knocking."

The children and their digimon partners looked at each other nervously while he finished, "Right now, I think the smart thing is for you kids to get out of here and lie low. I'll say we got separated when the monsters showed up. That should throw them off for a while. Now go!"

They took one glance back at the police and nodded hesitantly, before dashing down the end of the street and cutting into an alley. Joe took one look back to see a black SUV with a leaf symbol etched into the side door park itself on the side of the street. A blonde man in a black suit and a white sleeveless haori hop out. Joe felt like the two of them made brief eye contact, but he ran before the man could get a good look at him. It was weird to think that they'd be on the run after helping to stop a digimon rampage. When they'd gone a few blocks, the kids stopped to catch their breath. TK tugged at his brother's shirt, "Matt, are we in trouble?"

"Of course not, TK. We're just running...from the cops," Matt trailed off as he realized what he said. Gabumon looked up at his partner, "Not your best, Matt."

"It all makes sense, though. Doesn't it? Why we were the ones who went to the Digital World and became the Digidestined," Izzy stated, "It seems like we all saw that fight four years ago between Greymon and another digimon."

"That doesn't seem like the best criteria to choose who will save the world," Matt scoffed.

"Myotismon said he was coming here to kill the eighth child. Do you think the eighth child could be someone who saw that fight too?" Mimi asked aloud. Izzy massaged his chin, "It's a long shot but I think we already know who it is."

"Huh? We do?" TK looked confused. Tentomon patted his partner, "Why don't you tell them Izzy? It's kind of important that we get to the eighth digidestined right away!"

"I think the eighth digidestined is most likely someone who was there," Izzy stated, "Joe you said they found a little girl in the debris. If we figure out who that girl is, we might find the eighth child."

"It's Tai's sister!" Sora practically screamed, "Kari! She's the eighth child!"

"Tai's sister? You mean Tamer has a sister!" Mimi asked. Sora nodded, "Yeah. She took his 'death' harder than anyone else."

"Well, where is she?" Izzy asked, "The sooner we find her, the better."

Sora opened her mouth to answer and paused, realizing she didn't have an answer, "I don't know. They moved away a little after we did. But my mom might have an address! We could ask her!"

"Alright, which way to your place Sora?" Matt asked.

"We'll have to take a train," she said, leading them out of the alley. She pointed them towards a subway entrance and explained, "We're pretty far from where we moved."

"Shouldn't we find Tamer and Agumon first?" TK asked. Patamon shrugged and motioned around them, "Who knows where they ran off to?"

"They'll be fine. They can take care of themselves," Sora murmured. The way she said it, the others thought she might still be angry about the fight at Myotismon's Castle. In reality, a different question had come to mind. Tai couldn't remember Sora - even though they were best friends. What luck would his own family have?

"Let's go to my place and figure out where her family lives now," Sora added, "Then we'll go look for them."

"The way those two are, is it a good idea to let them wander around the city by themselves?" Joe asked. Bukamon shrugged, "What's the worse that could happen? Let's go!"

They were off on their first lead to find the eighth digidestined. Their only lead. They didn't know what they would do if it turned out Kari wasn't the eighth digidestined, but they would worry about that when they got to it.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** And they're off! Will the digidestined get to Kari before Myotismon? Are Tamer and Agumon okay after getting hit by a bus? What is Myotismon planning? To find out, come back for my next update on Friday, April 22nd at 5 PM CST. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I usually respond in a day or two, unless you leave a guest review. Then I'll reply in the next update! I also welcome constructive criticism and guesses what will happen next.

Next, some readers had a few questions about those spin-off ideas I had for The Tamer. Rather than explain them each time I'm asked about it, I decided to give a brief summary of each of those ideas. Each of them is outlined, with a beginning and end. I probably won't get around to them, though. Anyway, here are those ideas:

 **Burnt Leaf Declassified:** A story driven narrative about life after the events of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure and the organization that protects reality. Darker and with more mature subject matter addressing existentialism, corruption, political intrigue, deception, and the ramifications of other worldly monsters. Will have crossovers with other anime/media. Two things: first, the digidestined and their digimon will never appear in this story. Tamer and Agumon will receive passing mentions, but expect this to be more universe building than actual stories about the digidestined. Second, the protagonists are not heroes. Don't expect noble sacrifices and don't expect last minute heroic interventions. There will be a body count before the end of the first chapter.

 **The Life of Kari Kamiya:** A fluff/angst based series of one-shots about Kari's life after Tai's disappearance, his reemergence as the Tamer, and the impact it had on her family, social life, and personality, while still fulfilling her role as a digidestined. Will be more light-hearted in tone, with themes of family, friends, love, loss, and growing up. The digidestined and their digimon will appear, but the focus is squarely on Kari and her interactions with others. Remember, Kari was very dependent on Tai in the original Digimon so the spin here is how she would have handled those same issues without him. She became more independent as the series went on, but she was still pretty dependent - even into Adventure 02.

 **The Great War:** A companion narrative to The Tamer which takes place between Tai's disappearance in the Real World but before his reappearance in the Digital World as the Tamer. This will answer the question: what did happen to Tai to make him aloof, insane, manic, manipulative, and more than a little bitter? This is that story. It will continue in the same vein as The Tamer, but as a prequel. Will also have crossovers into other anime and media, but guaranteed to be done around year 8 or 9 of this fanfic.

And now! Teasers for next time! Once again, these are in no particular order and were pulled randomly from the next chapter.

"Wait! Open the door!" Sora's mother began too late to say.

"I don't want to do this anymore," TK said sheepishly.

Myotismon hissed, "Gatomon, begin scouring the area for any children."

"He doesn't recognize Sora so what hope does his own family have?" Izzy countered.

"Well, it helps that he's in my kitchen with this orange lizard. And they're going through my pantry," Sora's mother said.


	23. Home Sweet Home

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hello in a language you don't know and will never bother to look up! Welcome to Chapter 23 of the Tamer! Another big thanks to everyone who followed and favorited the story! I'm glad you guys like it! More special mention goes to Ace Spiritwell for making the cover art. Give their fanfiction a read and their deviantart account a look. Now, I want to give mention to Koji Wada, the man behind the music of Digimon. He passed away recently So I'd like to take a moment to honor his work for Digimon.

Next, I have replies for two guest reviews:

 **Guest 1:** As interesting as that idea would be, I'm afraid the story of The Tamer is already set in stone. Part of how I'm able to get chapters out so quick is that they're written out in advance. In turn, the story is outlined from beginning to end so it's really easy to churn out the next chapter. The main reason for delays really are my day job and life in general. So no, Wizardmon won't turn out to be a Royal Knight. Although, that's only because roles will change.

 **Guest 2:** Yes, the Royal Knights will appear but they will not be the focus. The focus will be on Tai/Tamer. But that story will be told in year 8 or 9 of the Tamer.

Alright! That's all for now so let's start the chapter!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 23: Home Sweet Home**

Myotismon, Gatomon, and Wizardmon appeared on the roof of an apartment building in the Real World. Under the blinding light of the sun, Myotismon collapsed to his knees and had to crawl into the shadow of a cooling unit. The vibration of its fans as it blew cool air through the facility helped ease Myotismon's pain, but did little to make the scorching sun go away. Gatomon and Wizardmon positioned themselves to make more shade and he commended them, "Thank you Gatomon. Your loyalty will be rewarded."

"It looks like the advanced guard have already spread out through the city," Gatomon said. An explosion rocketed in the distance and Wizardmon remarked, "Some of them have started early."

"The fools. They were supposed to cordon off the city, not attack. Wizardmon, track them down and bring them into line," Myotismon hissed, "Gatomon, begin scouring the area for any children. Schools, day cares, playgrounds, theme parks, any location where children gather. We make our move in twenty four hours."

"But where should I start looking?" Gatomon asked, "With all these humans, the eighth digidestined could be anywhere!"

"Here," Myotismon produced two sets crests, both with the same pink flowery sun, "These are copies of the eighth crest. They will glow when the eighth child is nearby."

"What about the original?" Wizardmon asked. Myotismon produced the eighth tag and crest from within his jacket, "I will hold them for now. When you find the eighth child, I will confirm their identity with the original."

"And where will you go master?" Gatomon asked. Myotismon stumbled towards a door and forced it open so that he could hide in the shade, "It's too bright. I will hide here until dark, then I will join you in your searched."

"Understood sir," Gatomon bowed. Wizardmon disappeared by fading into thin air, while Gatomon leapt off the roof. Myotismon closed the door behind him and sat in the darkened stairwell. He had no idea the sun of the human world could be so bright.

* * *

Mr. Fujiyama gave them more fare than they needed for the subway and they were soon on their way for Sora's home. The digimon marveled at the wonders of the human world, with buildings that towered so high they blocked out the sky and an endless number of humans bustling about on their normal day. It seemed a far cry from the often harsh and commonly nonsensical Digital World. There was a refined order to the Real World that was strange and whimsical to the visiting digimon.

Because of this new experience, Tentomon and Palmon leapt out onto the subway tracks when they mistook the oncoming train for an attacking digimon. They leapt back onto the boarding platform when the train rushed past, forcing Mimi and Izzy to pretend they dropped their dolls, and that the dolls were knocked back off the tracks. They boarded quickly to avoid answering any more questions and sighed in relief when the train took off.

Mimi and Izzy chastised their partners for behaving rashly, reminding them they had to pretend to be stuffed toys. But none of them could sit still after what happened with Mammothmon. The brazen display of the towering digimon proved one thing, Myotismon wasn't afraid to announce his presence to the humans of this world. Which left one question: why hadn't he done just that already? He'd marched an army through the gate into the Real World, but there was no sign of them besides Mammothmon. Where would Myotismon hide an army? Where _could_ Myotismon hide an army?

They tried to remain inconspicuous on the cramped train, but that proved an impossible feat. One of the passengers commented about their smell, and they apologized profusely. They tried explaining their camping trip, but the passenger asked them to clean up when they got home. For now, everyone just tried to bear with the smell until they got to their stop.

Their moment of peace didn't last long. Sora had sat herself next to a mother whose baby had started throwing a fit. While the baby thrashed about in its mother's arms, it grabbed for one of the stamens of Yokomon's flowery hair and yanked at it. Sora tried to pull the baby's grip off but the baby cried even louder. The mother apologized for her child's behavior and tried to stop it. The child refused to let go and continued pulling until Yokomon finally snapped, "HEY! LET GO OF ME!"

Her outburst silenced the entire train car and the passengers gawked at Yokomon. The mom looked at Sora in surprise, while the baby was scared into calming down. The child let Yokomon's stamen go and stared wide eyed at Yokomon's annoyed face. Sora's mind raced for an explanation but nothing came to mind and she looked to the other digidestined for help. They were just as stunned as the mother, and just as scared. It was only thanks to Izzy's quick thinking that they got any peace, "Your baby must have pulled the string on Sora's doll and activated the voice mechanism inside. Observe!"

Tentomon yanked on one of Tentomon's arms and he said, "Greetings friend! Let's play a game!"

The mother sighed and her baby cooed excitedly, trying to yank on Yokomon's stamen again. Thankfully, Sora pulled Yokomon away before the baby could even try.

"WOW! Mommy! Can I have a toy like that?" one child on the car asked. The child's mother sighed, "If you're good and finish your dinner on the way home."

"Aw," the kid sighed. The baby tried again to grab for Yokomon but Sora kept her digimon partner just out of reach. The baby's excited coos turned to whimpers and the mother tried bouncing him to calm him down. When that didn't work, she asked, "Excuse me, miss. Where did you get that toy? I'd be happy to get one for my child to play with, but where did you get yours?"

Sora looked to Izzy for help again, but he looked just as dumbfounded as she did. She tried focusing on coming up with an answer but her mind went blank. She could only think about how anyone was buying such an obvious lie. Then she heard the PA system declare, "Now arriving at Nerima. Please stand clear of the doors and allow others to enter and leave the car."

A light bulb came to life in her mind and Sora declared, "The Nerima Department Store!"

"Oh really! We're here right now! Thank you so much!" the mother thanked Sora. She bowed and moved to depart the train. The child from earlier pleaded with his mother even louder, "Mommy! Let's go to the Nerima Department Store! Can we? Please! Please! Please!"

"If you behave on the way home," the mother sighed and the child complained, "But then we'll have to go back to get it! Can't we just go get it now."

"No dear. Now behave," the mother replied. The child started throwing a tantrum, and the mother embarrassedly ushered the child out of the train before it took off down the tracks. Several other adults departed the car, following the mother to get some of the toys for their own kids. The car was mostly empty now, except for a few lingering businessmen waiting patiently to get home from work. The train departed the station and carried on to its next stop in Nakano. A few of the businessmen occasionally glanced at the kids but kept their distance because of the smell.

She was relieved when the train finally pulled into their stop at Nakano and was the first one out of the car. They were glad to be away from the eyes of the businessmen. What none of them expected was for Wizardmon waiting for them in broad day. Despite his odd appearance, all of the adults completely ignored his presence. He looked almost bored, staring less at them and more in their general direction.

"It's Wizardmon!" Mimi gasped, while Palmon leapt out of her arms. The other digimon followed suit and prepared to attack until Wizardmon said, "Pick up your digimon before they embarrass you. The last thing you want is to draw unwanted attention."

He raised one hand into the air and reached into his cloak with the other. He revealed the eighth crest, placed it on the ground and kicked it to their feet, "I'm here to give you this. It's a copy of the eighth crest created by Myotismon. It will react to the presence of the eighth child, and glow when she's near."

The digidestined picked up their partners but left the crest untouched. Izzy questioned the wizard, "Why should we trust you after you attacked us at Myotismon's castle?"

"Oh, you shouldn't. As I said, I'm on Gatomon's side and will do whatever needs to be done to protect her," Wizardmon explained, "If it's any consolation, that is where Myotismon's goals differ from my own."

"And what is your goal?" Yokomon asked.

"To see Gatomon happy," Wizardmon's face was concealed beneath his cloak but he looked like he had a smile underneath it. As good intentioned as he tried to come off, Matt called him out, "That doesn't really make us feel better. I mean, you knocked out Tamer at the gate and hurt Patamon!"

Wizardmon turned in his place, "I didn't think it would. But, you need all the help you can get and I figure that the odds stack in my favor if you find the eighth digidestined first. Myotismon can be cruel and unforgiving; he punishes servants who fail him. But he will be more careful with his subordinates as long as the eighth child remains alive - his army isn't renewable here. You'd do well to remember that, too."

"What?" Sora asked. Wizardmon walked into the crowd without answering and disappeared into the crowd. She looked down at the crest at their feet and scooped it up, "I really wish people would stop disappearing on us like that. First Tamer and Agumon, now Wizardmon."

"What did he mean by renewable?" Matt frowned, looking at Gabumon. His partner tried to mouth something, but there was nothing he could say with so many people present. Izzy was the first one to realize the nature of Wizardmon's parting warning, "We're not in the Digital World."

"Yeah. No duh, Izzy. Next you'll tell us the sky is blue," Matt remarked sarcastically. Izzy shook his head in disapproval, "No, I mean we're not in the Digital World anymore. There's no way to Primary Village. Digimon who die here probably die for real. Just like Mammothmon!"

The weight of the reminder sank in for them. Or perhaps it was the realization. The fear of death lingered over them in the Digital World and there was always the lingering concern that if their digimon wouldn't retain their memories if they did come back. But now it was real - their digimon would not come back by some miracle at Primary Village if any of them died. And the thought sent chills down their spines.

"I don't want to do this anymore," TK said sheepishly, squeezing Patamon tight. Sora shook her head, "We have too! There's still the other digidestined to find! If we don't, Kari might die!"

"Assuming it's Kari. Still, we should probably be more careful from now on," Joe said quietly. Bukamon bobbed his head in agreement. The children moved to leave the subway but stopped as they saw a television flash the news. An anchorman filled the screen along side a shaky video of the fight between Kabuterimon and Mammoth. They just managed to catch the anchor mid sentence, "Speculation suggests this could be a stunt to promote the newest Godzilla movie out this summer, but studio executives deny any involvement in the incident. Police have sealed off the area and are conducting an investigation, pursuing any and all leads. Perhaps the greatest mystery is what happened to the monsters in question - witnesses claim the insect defeated the mammoth, but both disappeared after the battle and no bodies were recovered at the scene. While it is a fortunate turn that nobody was injured, the question remains: can this happen again and, if so, will we be so lucky?"

"We should probably go," Joe said to them. They nodded their agreement and hurried up a flight of stairs to the street. In their rush to leave, they failed to notice two police officers watching the television in disapproval. The younger officer asked, "You don't think Leaf is at that incident, do you?"

"Not this again. Look, even if they are, who cares?" the older one answered, scratching his head in annoyance.

"I just don't like the idea of handing over all these cases to a bunch of people who don't answer to anyone," the younger cop clarified, "There's no accountability."

"There is. It's just above your pay grade," the older officer grunted. The younger one excitedly went on, "See, that's the thing. I know everyone tells me to drop it, but I did some digging! No one knows how to get in contact with these Leaf people. They just show up whenever there's trouble! But there's no budget, no documentation, no employee registers, nothing! They just sort of exist and no one knows where they came from! I'm telling you, it's probably some government cover up!"

"Here we go," the older officer sighed, prepared to listen to another mad rant about conspiracies and aliens from other worlds.

* * *

Gatomon prowled through the city until she came upon a park full of children at play. She dropped to all fours and wandered around, occasionally looking at the crest copy for a reaction. It never once glowed despite the presence of so many kids – indicating that the child was not here. She'd have thought that with an army present, they could cover this city in no time and find the child. She sighed when there was no reaction and turned to leave. She shouldn't have expected the child to be here. None of the children she saw looked like they were much of a threat. At least, not to her. Three in particular stood out - three sisters in glasses bickering among themselves. From how loud they were shouting, the whole park could tell their argument was over candy. How any of these kids could ever hope to be a threat to Myotismon's power was beyond her.

The youngest of the girls caught her staring, and fawned over how adorable she was, "Aw! What a cute little kittie!"

"Don't change the subject Yolei! You know you ate my candy bar!" the older sister hissed at the little girl who was lost in how cute Gatomon was. The middle sister finally noticed the cat and joined the youngest sister in her adoration, "Oh! How cute!"

She meowed like one of the ordinary cats in this world and hurried away, flustered that they had referred to her as cute. She'd never experienced a compliment like that before and had no idea how to react. In either case, she decided she didn't want to stick around in case they decided to pick her up and pet her. Or worse, try to get her to play with catnip or balls of yarn. She shook her head as she left to remove these distracting thoughts. She had a job to do as Myotismon's servant. Her swift motion caught the attention of a dog with a lax owner. The dog bolted, freeing its leash from the owner's grip, and pursued Gatomon. Rather than flee, Gatomon turned to face the growling dog as it made for an attack. The owner screamed and the girls cried out in horror - until Gatomon leapt into the air and decked the dog in the face with her claws.

The dog whimpered and scurried back to its owner with its tail between its legs. The owner of the dog petted the poor creature and picked up the leash, then looked at Gatomon. She hissed wearily and scampered off on all fours. She shouldn't have drawn so much attention to herself so early, and hopefully no one would report a stray cay with gloves. Then again, would the humans even care? They seemed oddly fickle when it came to small matters. Myotismon only behaved that way around larger threats - and that was to lower their guard before delivering a killing blow. Smaller threats were quashed immediately.

After all she'd seen, she remained unsure why Myotismon treated these humans like they were a serious threat. Nothing about them proved to be dangerous. She could probably slaughter the entire park if she wanted. But she didn't - and that drove her to another question. Did she not kill them because Myotismon didn't tell her to or because she genuinely didn't want to? She shuddered when she thought of Myotismon's response to those who disobeyed orders.

* * *

It was only a short walk from the subway to Sora's apartment. They tried to ignore the glances from people who could smell them along the way. If they ever went home, they'd have to make sure to shower and get some fresh clothes on. But it encouraged them to hurry to her apartment, but this didn't stop the digimon from gawking at the sheer volume of people in the city.

Sora's home was a ten story building located in Nakano, near the heart of Tokyo. The sun was starting to sink over the horizon and the various apartments came to life with light. From the ground, she could see her family's place illuminated on the third floor and the silhouette of her mother through the window. While walking the familiar route up to her home, she became anxious at the thought of seeing her mother again. It had been a long time since she'd last seen her and, in that absence, she learned that she really did miss her. It took the experience at Piximon's cave for her to finally realize just how much her mother meant to her - but they still weren't on speaking terms.

"Sora? Are we going to go inside?" Yokomon asked. Sora snapped out of her daze and realized she'd been standing at the door to her apartment. She had no idea how long she'd stood there, but the concerned looks of the others told her all she needed to.

"I guess I'm just nervous," Sora sighed.

"I think we'd all be. It's been weeks since any of us saw our families," Joe agreed with a nod.

"It'll be okay, Sora! We can tell her all about Yokomon and the others! And the Digital World! And all the bad guys we beat!" TK smiled with a big toothy grin. Patamon looked at his partner, "Do you think it'll be that easy?"

"It _should_ be," Matt frowned, "Go on Sora. We'll be right behind you."

Sora nodded and unlocked the door into her apartment. Before she pushed it open, she reminded the digimon, "Remember guys. You're dolls. The last thing I want is for my mom to freak out when she sees you."

"I thought we were going to tell them about the Digital World," TK said. Matt tussled his little brother's hair while Sora opened the door. The entry was exactly as she remembered leaving it, perhaps a bit cleaner, but nothing changed. It felt strange to register the passage of time in the Digital World and find nothing different here in the Real World. But it hit home, literally. She kicked off her shoes and said, "Mom! I'm home!"

"Sora?" her mother's voice called back in surprise, "What are you doing home? I though you'd be at summer camp."

"They cancelled it because of the bad weather," Sora said. Her mother walked into the entryway from the kitchen and Sora felt her mouth fall open. Her mother looked at her with bewildered amazement, dressed in her traditional kimono and with her hair done up into a bun. Sora hated the bun, and her mom's weird fashion sense. But none of that registered to her. She didn't think about the experiences in the cave, or the pending danger from Myotismon, or the fact that the two of them were still 'not talking'. Sora just ran up to her mom and gave her the biggest hug she could. The action certainly caught her mom by surprise and she asked, "Sora! What's this?"

"Nothing. I just missed you, that's all," Sora said, realizing she had tears in her eyes. Sora wiped them away and gave her mom a big smile, which she didn't return because she was still confused, "I missed you too dear. But we saw each other this morning."

"Yeah, we did," Sora said through her misty eyes. Her mother then smiled calmly, "Sora, is everything alright? Your clothes are all dirty and you smell awful. Did something happen? You know you can tell me!"

"Yeah, a lot happened mom," Sora said. Izzy coughed behind her and she realized she hadn't introduced her friends yet, "Oh! Mom, these are some friends from summer camp. Meet TK, Matt, Mimi, Izzy, and Joe!"

"Hi! It's very nice to meet you ma'am!" the digidestined all said together. Sora's mother returned the greeting with a formal bow, "It's nice to meet you all too. I'm sorry, but did you happen to tell your parents that you're here? It's getting dark out and I'd hate for them to think that their kids are wandering around outside."

"Oh, we didn't even think about it. Can we please use your phone Mrs. Takenouchi?" Izzy asked and Sora's mother reluctantly allowed them to borrow the phone to call their parents. While they made calls Sora's mother took her into the kitchen to talk. Whatever had Sora upset was a subject that should've remained between them and she made sure her friends were in the next room before talking, "Sora, I'm glad you came straight home after you're summer camp closed, but don't you think you should have called first? You know I don't like it when you do something without telling me. I worry."

Sora did her best to hide her smile, having a newfound appreciation for her mother's concern, "I'm sorry mom."

"So what happened to you and your friends at summer camp? You all smell like you crawled through a sewer. And that toy you've been carrying around - did you find it at camp too? Because I think the smell is just as bad," she asked. Sora nodded, "Yeah, I know it was only a day but a lot happened."

Her mother nodded, "Well, you and your friends can tell me all about it while I wash your toys. They look like they could do with a good cleaning."

"Oh! Uh, I don't think that's a good idea! Y'know, the toys might fall apart in the wash - they're kind of fragile," Sora said quickly trying to come up with an excuse. Her mother frowned, "But the smell is just awful."

"Yeah, but-" Sora began until Yokomon nudged her in the stomach, "Sora, you shouldn't lie to your mother."

"Yokomon!" Sora whined at her partner. Her mother stared blankly at Yokomon and asked, "Did your doll just talk?"

"What? No! Don't be ridiculous! It has a pull string!" Sora spat out, until Yokomon hopped on to the table, "Oh no! Not that again! I am not going to get my hair yanked. Greetings Mrs. Sora's mom, I am Yokomon and I am Sora's digimon partner."

Sora's gaze went from her partner to her mother, not sure how to salvage the situation. Yokomon let the cat out of the bag and there was nothing she could say to change that. For her part, her mother appeared relatively calm about the revelation- just blankly staring at the creature on her table. She nodded at it, "Hello…Yokomon."

"Hi!" Yokomon said brightly.

"Mom, I can explain!" Sora said quickly, but her mother had already gone to refrigerator. She prepared some glasses of oolong tea for them and passed it around the table. Sora quietly sipped her glass while Yokomon guzzled down the entire thing. Her mother took a slow sip and said, "Okay Sora. Start from the beginning."

So Sora began from the beginning. She told her mother all about the sudden snow that covered the camp, their adventure to the Digital World, meeting their digimon, the fight against digimon like Devimon and Etemon, searching for the crests, and pursuing Myotismon back to this world. Sora even placed her crest and digivice on the table to show her mother. Occasionally, Yokomon would add something and her mother would ask a question which Sora answered as best as she could. The whole time, she remained impassive and stared at both Sora and Yokomon. When Sora reached the end of her explanation, she said, "So we need to find the last digidestined and give them this crest, before Myotismon finds them and kills them."

"Sora, that's…just a lot to take in and I don't think I believe half of it," her mother sighed. Yokomon bobbed nervously on the table, "How can't you? I'm standing right here."

"Oh, I believe that you're a monster," Sora's mother said with a patronizing tone which Yokomon returned with a disapproving grunt, "But I'm supposed to believe she can fight a giant monster with your help?"

"Not as Yokomon, but I can do it as Biyomon and Birdramon!" Yokomon said proudly, "When I become super strong and protect Sora!"

Her mother looked at little Yokomon wearily but nodded, "I'm sure you can."

"Anyway mom, we need to find Kari because we think she's the last digidestined," Sora told her mother. Her mother looked at her wearily, "What makes you say that?"

"When we came back into the city, we ran into Mammothmon," Sora said, intentionally leaving out parts of the story. Sora's mother gasped, "That was you on the news?"

She nodded, "Well, it was Izzy and Tentomon. Anyway, while they fought, we all remembered something. It was about the night of the bombing four years ago, when we lived in Highton View Terrace. The bombing wasn't a terrorist attack - it was a battle between two digimon. We all remember seeing it years ago. And Kari was the one they found in all the debris. If anyone is the eighth child, it would be her."

"Eighth? Sora, I only count six of you," her mother retorted. Sora knew she'd have to explain the next part. The part she'd been leaving out because she'd sound crazy if that was where she started. She chose her words carefully while she spoke, "There's one last thing mom. When we were in the Digital World, we found a kid who was there before us. He even had a digivice and a digimon partner. He'd been there for a long time, and he called himself 'The Digimon Tamer'. But…it was Tai."

"Sora," her mother interrupted her. A nerve was struck and she was ending the conversation there, "I think that's enough. I want you to go take a bath and clean up. You're a mess."

"No, mom! It was Tai! It really was," Sora insisted, "He was alive and-"

Her mother sighed, massaging her forehead, "I thought we'd moved past this, Sora."

"Moved past what?" Yokomon asked. Sora's mother shushed the little digimon and placed her hand on Sora's, "Sora dear. Tai's gone. He isn't coming back."

"No! Mom! Listen, he's alive. He just doesn't remember," Sora said, "It was him! We really met him at-"

"Um, excuse me," Izzy said interrupting them, "The phone's not working. We've all tried but it keeps saying the line is…"

He stopped himself when he saw Yokomon sitting on the table and scrambled to come up with an explanation, "Oh, I see you're looking at Sora's-"

"It's okay, Izzy. Sora's told me everything. I already know," Sora's mother interrupted him. Izzy lowered his head slightly as she asked, "Are you a part of this, too? This digidestined prophecy thing?"

He nodded sheepishly and Sora's mother buried her face in her hand, as if to hide it from Sora. She breathed heavily for a moment, then wiped it all away to ask, "Why you? Why were you given this responsibility? You're just children!"

"We think it's because we saw the digimon battle four years ago," Sora answered, "That night when Tai…disappeared."

"Sora, he's dead!" her mother insisted angrily. Sora flinched away frightfully. Just then, there was a knock at the door. The room went silent, the only sound coming from the knocking. Sora's mother looked at the door and mumbled, "Who's that? Your father wouldn't knock at his own house. We'll talk about this in a second."

Sora's mother went to answer the door, leaving Sora sitting quietly at the table. She should've known better than to bring Tai up. Of course her mother wouldn't believe her about that, not after the fit she had as a kid. She'd acted out because of Tai's death and her mother probably thought that's what she doing again. She was hoping she could patch some things up with her mom, not make her think her daughter was crazy. Izzy thumbed into the living room, "We're all in the living room, Sora."

She nodded and picked up her partner Yokomon, following him quietly into the living where the other digidestined were idly discussing what they should do next. Joe pondered, "You don't think the phone being down is because of Myotismon, do you?"

"Who knows? Maybe digimon can affect electronics," Matt suggested, resting Gabumon at his feet. Mimi turned on the television to see it worked fine, "I don't think that's it. See? The show's are still playing."

"Oh boy! TV! I missed TV!" TK said, sprawling in front of the TV on the floor and watching it bemusedly. Patamon sat down beside him, "TK? What's a TV?"

"Didn't you say something about that in the Digital World Mimi?" Palmon asked. Mimi smiled and started switching through channels, "Yeah! This is a TV! People use it to watch shows, news, cartoons, movies and all kinds of things!"

"Can we watch 'Super Mega Ultra Hyper Force Hero Team GO!'?" TK asked excitedly, his face lit up with the most anticipated smile. Mimi could hardly say no to his adorable face and quickly found the channel in time for the opening credits. TK sang along with the lyrics and posed with the characters on screen, bewitching the digimon with curiosity. Patamon happily followed along with TK and Gabumon joined in just as well. Tentomon asked, "Are you supposed to do that?"

"No, I think they're just excited," Joe nodded. Bukamon, Palmon, Tentomon, and Yokomon crowded around the glowing screen and watched the villain of the day fight the heroes in an epic battle. They were so entranced, they didn't know they'd completely blocked the screen. Matt was the one to scold them, "Hey guys! Don't stand so close. You'll hurt your eyes."

"Do you really think it was okay, telling your mom about all this?" Izzy asked her curiously, peeking the attention of the other digidestined, "Sora! You told her?"

"Not because I wanted to. Yokomon blabbed and said I shouldn't lie to her. So I told everything about the digimon, the Digital World, Myotismon, Tai, and Kari," Sora answered sheepishly. Mimi asked, "And what did she say?"

"She thought I was crazy. I don't blame her. I did act out back when I thought Tai died," Sora admitted, "Because I didn't want to think he was dead."

"I think I believe you, Sora. I believe he's alive," Sora's mother said at the entry to the living room. Sora looked at her mother in disbelief. She believed her? Sora's mother thought she was telling the truth! Sora mouthed, "You do?"

"Well, it helps that he's in my kitchen with this orange lizard. And they're going through my pantry," Sora's mother said, moving aside as Sora rushed past back in the kitchen. As Sora's mother said, Tamer and Agumon had opened the pantry and were digging through its contents, tossing aside cans and packaged food. Oddly, Tamer no longer wore his black ensemble with the white cloak. Instead he dressed in a blue shirt with orange stars on each sleeve over a yellow high collared shirt that came up to his neck. He wore a black supporter band over his left arm that tucked into his white glove neatly, as well as brown khaki shorts and knee high socks that he let sag down to his ankles. Beside him was Agumon dressed in his white cloak and commenting, "I don't think it's here."

"Well the digivice says it's here," Tamer answered, crawling out of the pantry and scratching his head. He still had his goggles, but he wore them over a blue sweatband that he used to keep his fiery hair out of his face, "The digivice wouldn't be wrong, unless we're on the wrong floor."

"So what, do we just check every apartment in the building?" Agumon asked. Tamer sighed, "I guess, sorry for wasting your time miss. I guess my cat's not-"

He turned to face them and saw Sora standing there with her mouth wide open. He looked just as surprised as she did and asked, "Sora, what are you doing here?"

Mimi came in right behind her, and promptly gasped when she saw him, "Tamer! You're alright! What are you wearing?"

"What, this? I needed to get a change of clothes, my old stuff made me stand out in this world and Agumon was drawing too much attention," Tamer said.

"Where did you get it?" she asked. He shrugged, "I dunno, some clothing store in town. Why? Is something wrong with it?"

"It's tacky," Mimi said critically.

"Well I picked these out based on what you guys wear. You guys have khakis and gloves," Tamer said defensively.

"Yeah, but these were our clothes for summer camp. This isn't what we wear all the time," Mimi pointed out, to which he replied, "Then why are you still in them?"

Mimi groaned her disapproval while he asked, "Never mind. What are you guys doing here?"

"I live here. What are you doing here Tai?" she asked back. Tamer sighed in exasperation, "Not this again. Look, it's 'The Digimon Tamer'. Why is that so hard to grasp?"

"Tai! This is my mom! You knew her a long time ago! Mom, you recognize him, right?" Sora looked to her mother pleadingly. She nodded, "The resemblance is uncanny. It's…actually scary to see a dead person standing right in front of you. Then again, I did just talk to a monster so I supposed ghosts shouldn't be out of the question. And you are about the age he would be at if he were alive."

"What? One hundred and five thousand? Seriously, why does everyone keep calling me Tai?" Tamer said. The incredibly large number threw Sora's mom off, "What?"

Tamer continued, pointing at Sora, "And to answer your question, we're looking for the eighth child's digivice! You guys said you saw seven lights and that six of them landed near you. If I had to guess, the seventh landed near the last digidestined! So I'm tracking it. It says it should be nearby, but I don't see it."

Tamer looked at his digivice in annoyance, "Dumb thing must be broken. Oh wait, it's moving. Outside. That can't be right."

Tamer's gaze shifted out to the sliding glass door of the kitchen, and the balcony just beyond. Sitting on the railing was a white and brown cat wearing a pink ribbon for a collar. A little bell hung off the bow and jangled as it moved. It held a digivice in its mouth like the others, but hissed when it saw Tamer staring at it, before leaping off the balcony. Tamer cocked his head to the side, "Huh, I guess we were on the wrong floor. Wait! Agumon! Get the cat!"

"On it boss!" Agumon charged for the balcony.

"Wait! Open the door!" Sora's mother began to say too late. Agumon leapt through one side of the sliding glass door and over the balcony in pursuit of the kitty, "Pepper Breath!"

"Agumon! Wait! Don't kill the cat!" Tamer said, jumping through the other pane of glass and following his partner over the balcony, "We have to return it to its owner!"

"I'm not trying to cook it! I just wanted to scare it!" Agumon's voice could be heard somewhere below. Sora slid the broken glass door open and looked over the balcony to see they were gone. But Tamer could still be heard shouting, "We're trying to catch the cat not scare it away!"

"They're gone!" Sora said, still scanning the streets for some sign of them. It was too dark to tell now, and there was no way to know where they were.

"I know I say this all the time, but they're crazy," Bukamon sighed, following her out to the balcony, "Weren't they hit by a bus? How are they walking around like nothing happened?"

"Sora, was everything in the Digital World like that?" her mother asked behind her. She shook her head, "No, just Tai and Agumon. Although, something usually blew up whenever they showed up."

"Shouldn't we go help them?" Mimi asked. Izzy waved the idea off, "I think they're doing fine on their own. We should continue to pursue the possibility that Kari is the eighth child."

"Wow, that was…different coming from you Izzy," Mimi said, "I thought you were more sensitive than that."

Izzy looked at her quizzically while she explained, "If Tamer really is Kari's brother, don't you think the two of them will want to see each other after being apart for so long? Wouldn't that be such a happy reunion?"

"I don't think so. He doesn't recognize Sora so what hope does his own family have?" Izzy countered, "I think it's better if the two don't run in to each other just yet."

"Not him! Imagine the look on his sister's face! Or even his parents when the see him again!" Mimi corrected Izzy.

"And imagine how horrified they'll be when they see what he's turned into," Joe countered, "I think we should go assess the situation for ourselves and determine if reuniting them would be a good idea. A lot can happen in four years."

"I guess that makes sense," Mimi conceded the point, "Mrs. Takenouchi, do you know where Tamer's family lives?"

"I'll tell you," Sora's mother began, "After you all go home and see your families."

"But mom-" Sora's complaint was preemptively cut off when her mother sternly said, "No buts Sora. If you what you said is true, then your friends haven't seen their own families in a long time. It's best that they go home and do that. And when you do, I want each of you to have a talk with your parents about what's going on. I want you to be honest, the way Sora was with me. Saving the world can wait one night for each of you to go home and get some rest. Tomorrow, you can come back and I'll tell you where the Kamiyas moved."

"Mrs. Takenouchi! There's an army of-"

"I know," she interrupted again, "Sora told me everything. I didn't want to believe it at first, but then I watched a boy I thought was dead for years walk right into my kitchen, dig through my pantry, and jump off my balcony. I can't begin to explain how much I'm trying to not freak out. You owe your parents the truth if you're going to go out and fight monsters. Imagine how they'd feel if they lost their children the way the Kamiyas lost Tai? Or almost lost him. I don't know, this is making my head hurt. But, you understand what I'm trying to say, right?"

"Right," they all nodded.

"So please. Go see your families. And for the love of all things good, take a shower!" she added with a laugh. Her speech left them feeling gloomy, but her joke helped ease the tension. They'd been so caught up in finding the eighth child that they'd forgotten all about their families. It was time to go see them again.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Sora's mom has a point; they need to see their parents! Will they find the eighth child before Gatomon? Will Tamer and Agumon catch the cat? Just what is Wizardmon working towards? To find out, come back for my next update on Friday, April 29th at 5 PM CST. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I usually respond in a day or two, unless you leave a guest review. Then I'll reply in the next update! I also welcome constructive criticism and guesses what will happen next. And now, previews for next again. Once again, these are in no particular order and were pulled at random.

"Mom! Dad! Meet Palmon!" Mimi said.

"With all due respect, Lord Myotismon, isn't this over kill?" Phantomon asked.

"With your luck, you'll pick the one person who can't read," Agumon snarked.

"Don't misunderstand our placative attitude as acceptance or approval," Joe's dad explained.

"But...you never told me," Izzy sighed.


	24. Domestics

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hello dear readers. Welcome to Chapter 24, Domestics! I can't say thanks enough to all the readers who left reviews, favorited, and followed the story. As a milestone, we hit our one hundredth review last chapter! Celebrations! But that's not possible over the internet and I'm sure some of you aren't of drinking age so have some soda or something. I don't know. Also, special mention to Ace Spiritwell for producing the cover art. I can't thank them enough for it. Give their fan fiction a read and their deviantart a look. I know I say it all the time, but that's how grateful I am. Now for a guest review reply. And this is one that is going to answer a lingering question over this story.

 **Guest:** I'm glad you're excited but, as I've said, this story will take nine to ten years to complete. If I shot out everything I had planned in one go, it'd be incredibly boring, confusing and the story quality would drop as a result as it would feel rushed. The amount of ground to cover is why it will take roughly nine years to complete. Patience is all I ask. Second, you caught something that only one other reader (to my knowledge) caught. Why is Doctor Who listed in the disclaimer of this story? Is it a crossover? Well then, where's the Doctor? Why hasn't he shown up yet? In a way, he already has. As I've said, I'm a fan of subtle story telling so I've already dropped some hints on what's really going on over the course of this nine year story. One thing I'm not too afraid to give away is this: Tai, or The Tamer as he's taken to calling himself, had his character reworked to be modeled after a combination of the original Tai Kamiya, the Ninth Doctor and the Tenth Doctor. He's melancholic, aloof, and brash to the point of rude, but it's obvious he acts that way because he's sad. Tai/Tamer tries not to dwell on the past, and doesn't give too much thought to the future, instead focusing on the present. This doesn't mean he can't be fun and playful, and there is a bit of optimism left in him - he just needs someone else to help bring it out. Usually that's Agumon, but we've seen the digidestined bring it out of him a few times - namely Sora, Mimi, and TK to a degree. Also, he's headstrong to a fault and reckless when agitated. So wait, does this mean this entire story is just a cheap Doctor Who knock off? Not really. I mean, time travel doesn't really come into play in Digimon and the closest thing we get to seeing other worlds is the back and forth between the Digital World and Real World. However, the story does take a few cues from Doctor Who. Vaguely discussed war in the past that no one talks about? Check. Mysterious people who are all dead now leaving a sole survivor? Check. Vague prophecies and ideas that won't pay off until the end? Check. Keep in mind, much of this was already there in the Digimon Adventure canon (Gennai and his people fought the Dark Masters) but they just never really expanded on it. Because of that, it's really easy to draw the parallels between digimon and Doctor Who. So, yeah, we are taking a few cues, but the story is self contained and we're definitely not going to see Time Lords in this story.

Anyway, that's all I'm willing to give away for now.

So, that's that. The cat's sort of out of the bag on that detail. Not really because I haven't spoiled any of the final surprises. Without further ado, let's start Chapter 24!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 24: Domestics**

Myotismon glided over the streets of the human city in search of his prey. Now that the burning light of the sun was gone, he was free to move as he pleased and do as he wished. And he wished to satiate his ravenous appetite - a hunger spurred by a desire to taste human blood for the first time. As he was, blood was the go to for his diet, but countless millennia feasting on nothing but the blood of the various digimon in the Digital World left him craving something new - and the human world would provide.

He flew over the streets until he spotted the ideal prey, a young woman in a red dress with her hair done up. She seemed distressed; as if a plan had been ruined, possibly by some young man who'd turned out to be a terrible partner. Myotismon didn't pretend to understand the mating rituals of others, nor did he care. She was alone, moving through a mostly empty street - there were a few people around but nothing that couldn't be taken care of with a little fog. He waved his hand through the air and concentrated his energies on condensing the moisture in the air - enough to create a thin mist that wouldn't seem out of place. Then he descended just ahead of the woman, and approached from the opposite end of the street.

Up close, he could see the tears in her eyes and the obvious grief that had taken her. He would ease her suffering and made eye contact just as she looked up, hypnotizing her into staring blankly at him with an empty smile. Myotismon moved quickly, embracing the woman as if to kiss her but adjusting his lips to sink his fangs into her neck. Under his spell, she couldn't resist and made no attempt to fight back. She stood there and let him drain her of the marvelous new taste of her blood. It was an experience Myotismon had never had before, and he was certain it would not be his last. He didn't know how much he'd had and didn't particularly care - he drank until he'd had his fill and released the woman. She crumpled to the ground, pale and sickly while he disappeared into the sky. With a wave of his hands, the mist cleared and the few people on the street saw the passed out woman. He didn't linger and departed for his new abode - there was more planning to be taken care of.

Passing over the busy streets, it struck him as peculiar how many humans would be awake so late at night. So many people, so many potential threats. Even with his army - he wasn't sure how he could possible find the eighth digidestined among these numbers. Yes, the prophecy referred the digidestined as a child, but certainly there was some leniency in that interpretation. After all, The Digimon Tamer was over a hundred millennia old and he was somehow considered a child. The humans below were hardly past their first century. Any one of them could have been the last the child.

And yet, in that crowd, he spotted five children holding digimon like dolls. He wasn't sure if it was luck or destiny, but he knew how to turn this into an advantage. With a wave of his hand, a colony of bats came forth and scattered with the wind. Each of them was capable of a limited degree of conscious thought and could follow simple instruction - like following the digidestined. He mused at whatever information they would uncover, and disappeared into the night in a fit of laughter.

* * *

Sora sat at the table with her mom and Yokomon eating dinner. Her father had to work late and wouldn't be home until ten. Sora didn't particular mind since it would save her from having the awkward conversation of explaining everything again. It also meant she wouldn't have to explain the two broken glass panes of the sliding door. They covered it up with some garbage bags and cleaned up the shards as best as they could. Sora's mom didn't say a thing after Tamer's dramatic exit off the balcony. Her mother prepared a larger meal than normal: miso soup, rice, steak and salad. A homemade meal after all their travels was a nice change of pace. She just wished it wasn't in total silence, the only noise coming from Yokomon wolfing down all the food she could. Thankfully, her mother broke the silence, "Sora, please don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad. I thought you were mad," Sora said bewildered.

"I'm not mad, just scared," her mother said, "Six hours ago, you were at camp, Tai was still dead, and life was normal. Now, you're back, Tai is alive, and I find out monsters exist in another world. It's…a bit of a shock."

"Are you…going to stop me and the others from looking for the eighth child?" Sora asked. Her mother shook her head, "No. At least, not tomorrow. Tonight, I just want you to be my little girl. Not a 'digidestined' whose job is to save the world."

"You're okay with this?" Sora asked quietly. Her mother shook her head, "I'm not. I'm mad and scared, and I wish my only daughter wasn't chosen for this. But…I also realize that if it wasn't you then it would have been someone else's child. Someone else, like Tai. And after what happened to the Kamiyas, I thought to myself: not you. Never you."

Sora nodded in understanding. After everything in the cave, she completely understood her mother's way of thinking and couldn't fault her for being protective. Her mother sighed, "But it happened anyway. I can't pretend that it didn't, I mean Yokomon is still here eating dinner with us. So, just be careful and promise you'll come back alive. Okay?"

"Okay mom," Sora nodded, "I will."

"And I'll be there to make sure nothing bad happens to her!" Yokomon added cheerily between mouthfuls of food.

"And I'll make sure nothing bad happens to you," Sora finished. Her mother chuckled, "That's a relief. Now finish your dinner and take a bath. You smell like a sewer!"

"Gee, thanks," Yokomon said with a frown. Sora and her mother both laughed. She hadn't laughed like that with her mom in a long time. It felt good to do so again.

* * *

The digidestined went their separate ways once they arrived at the train station - each of them getting on separate trains to get to their respective homes. Everyone, except Matt and TK, who wanted to stay together as long as they could. Patamon and Gabumon commented on their brotherly love, but Matt scowled and asked them to mind their own business. TK noted his brother's behavior and said, "You don't have to take me home Matt. I'm a big kid now! I can do it myself."

Matt was shaken by TK's choice of words but responded, "I'm not doing this because I have to TK. I'm doing this because I want to. You're my brother and…I want to spend more time together."

"Thanks Matt," TK said softly. They got off at Sangenjaya and walked the busy streets towards their mother's apartment. Matt hadn't seen their mother in quite a while, and was uncertain of what he would say when he did. Their relationship was awkward at best and nonexistent at worst. He remembered little about beyond that she took custody of TK after their parents' divorce, although he couldn't remember any details regarding that. The lights were on in his mother's apartment, and it was already dark outside. It wasn't anywhere near as big as Sora's apartment, but it looked much nicer.

Gabumon and Patamon shuffled in their arms to get a better look and commented on the size. TK made a point of saying size didn't matter and Matt had to hold back a laugh. TK was way too young to know about those kinds of jokes. At the door to their place, Matt knocked on the door, only to be greeted by his mother wearing an apron and holding a spatula, "Hello…Matt? TK?"

"Hi Mom!" TK excitedly threw Patamon into the air to hug his mom. Patamon squeaked when he hit the ground, and shot TK a mean look until Matt picked him up. He nodded to his mom and nervously greeted her, "Hey mom."

"You're home!" she sounded as surprised as Sora's own mom did. Matt nodded and TK buried his face into her.

"Camp was closed early because of snow," Matt explained, "So they sent everyone home."

"Oh…well, thanks for bringing TK home Matt," his mom said sheepishly. He nodded again while TK started, "I really missed you mom!"

"I was only gone for a few hours TK. I didn't know you'd be so lonely without me," she said only for TK to answer, "It wasn't lonely. Matt was with me! But I still missed you!"

"What's gotten into you? Acting all spoiled," his mother giggled. TK looked up with his biggest grin and Matt felt jealous of their relationship. He didn't think his relationship with his dad was bad, but it wasn't anything like this. His mother looked up at him and beckoned him inside, "Come in Matt. I was just making dinner."

"Oh, no thanks. I've got to get home," Matt made his excuses only for TK to give him puppy dog eyes, "You don't want to stay?"

Matt couldn't say no to that look but he resisted anyway, returning Patamon to him, "Sorry buddy. I still have to go see dad."

"Oh," he could hear the disappointment in his mother's voice, but he turned to leave anyway. It was better this way. The last thing either of them needed was him getting in the way of their dinner. When they walked back out into the street, Gabumon asked, "Why didn't you stay Matt? You already came this far."

"I don't think I should butt in," Matt said, trying to sound mature. He avoided mentioning that he felt out of place at his mother's home. Gabumon didn't need to know any of that. Gabumon chuckled, "Y'know it's funny. You got mad at Tamer and Agumon for keeping secrets. But here you are, keeping secrets from me."

"That's different," was all Matt could say - but he knew his partner was right. He was being hypocritical so he was glad that Gabumon didn't push the matter any more. And, perhaps in truth, he didn't want to tell his parents about the digimon. This way was easier - his dad would probably be home late and would still be sleeping when he left. But with his mom, she would hear the whole thing and that left a lingering question for him - would she even care?

It was a question he didn't want an answer to. He wanted to think that his mother might care even a little bit, but her absence since the divorce was an ever present thought on his mind. And telling her might confirm something he'd feared for a long time - his mother didn't care about him. Gabumon looked at his partner, "Y'know Matt. You really shouldn't have left if you didn't want to. We can still go back."

"I'm fine, Gabumon," Matt said.

"The fact that you walked a block and then stopped says otherwise," Gabumon whispered back. Matt became aware of his surroundings and realized the crowd of people passing around him, a few them looking at him quizzically. He wondered how long he'd been standing here and bashfully replied, "It'd be awkward."

"Well yeah. You hardly said a word to her," Gabumon replied, "You didn't even hug her! Even TK did that!"

Matt found his gaze had moved past Gabumon to his shoes. Gabumon was right and, thinking about it, this was like the cave all over again. TK berated him - telling him to leave him alone and stop treating him like a child. Tamer said that it was up to Matt to solve that on his own, but he didn't know where to begin. Perhaps, he'd been taking the wrong approach to what he saw. Perhaps a different approach was to ask - was his brother more mature than him? TK wasn't bothered by his parents' divorce, nor was he ever afraid to speak his thoughts on something. On the other hand, Matt was more reserved and only spoke out when he was truly frustrated.

"Matt?" Gabumon asked, but he didn't hear his partner. He continued wrestling with the idea of turning back to see his mom or going home where his dad wouldn't be there to ask about the Digital World. Without really thinking, he continued walking back to his father's apartment. Away from TK and his mother, to avoid having that conversation.

But was he okay leaving TK alone to explain that to his mother? But what if she responded with concern for TK but not for him? Could he face that too?

"Y'know, you're mom lives in the other direction," Gabumon commented.

"I know," Matt sighed, still wrestling with the idea. Eventually Gabumon said, "What's eating at you Matt? If you don't tell me, I can't help you."

"It's nothing Gabumon," Matt murmured.

"You know you can tell me," Gabumon pressed the issue, to Matt's annoyance. He growled, "I said I'm fine!"

He didn't realize what he'd done until after he said it and regretted what he'd done. Gabumon shied away and was quiet for the rest of the trip back. He tried to think of a way to apologize, but couldn't bring himself to say it.

* * *

Izzy tried to sneak his way into his family's apartment but was caught by his mom, who was on the phone talking to one of her friends. He arrived just in time to hear her downplaying some sort of praise from her friend, "Oh, he is such a sweet boy, but I'm sure your sons can't be that troublesome. I don't thi...Izzy? What are you doing home? "

She'd looked at the door as he tried to close it to see him standing there. He quickly explained, "Hi mom! I'm home! They closed the camp early because of bad weather."

"Oh, they did? I didn't hear anything about that. No phone calls, nothing on the news…"

"Yeah, it was kind of sudden!" Izzy said, going forward to hug his mom, "If you need me, I'll be in my room."

"Wait, Izzy!" his mom started only for him to dash past into his room, "At least take a bath."

Izzy had already locked the door to his room, but he could hear his mother murmuring, "I don't know how he got to smell like that after one day at summer camp. Oh no. Don't tell me this is teenage hormones! The attitude and the talk were going to be bad enough! I don't want to worry about his body odor too!"

Izzy sighed, glad that his mother didn't pursue him to his room. That last remark did have him lifting his arm up to get a whiff of himself - an act that made him nauseous and decide that a bath would be better. The smell from the sewer had definitely left its mark on everyone. First, he had to let Tentomon in and he opened the window to his bedroom - letting his giant insect partner float in, "Izzy! I'm glad you finally opened up! A girl screamed when she saw me hanging off your wall and went to call her dad."

"It's good to see you're alright Tentomon," Izzy nodded to his partner. The insect digimon inspected his room - a mostly modest affair consisting of a single bed, a dresser, and a desk stacked with hard drives, computer chips, graphics cards, motherboards, and other computer components. Beside it on a bookshelf were even more computer parts and a few manuals about how to use computers. Tentomon flocked over to the computer desk and remarked, "Izzy, you really do love your computers, don't you?"

"Yeah, it's a hobby," Izzy said, setting his bag down on the floor and sinking into the comfort of his bed. It was bliss to feel such a soft and familiar surface again after all their time in the Digital World. Tentomon scurried to Izzy's side, "Izzy, aren't we going to tell your mom about the Digital World?"

"In a minute Tentomon. I want to…rest a little bit," Izzy said groggily. He'd lost himself in the comfort of his own bed and was reminded of how tired he was after the day's events - Myotismon's castle, coming home, fighting Mammothmon, and then the visit at Sora's home. A quick rest wouldn't hurt, right?

His partner had other ideas and nudged him, "Izzy! Don't you want your mom to know about what we'll be doing tomorrow? Sora told her mom, and everyone else is going to tell their parents."

"I will Tentomon," Izzy murmured, "I will."

Although he wasn't sure he would. He loved his parents and wanted them to know, but he couldn't forget the secrets they kept. What he'd learned by happen chance that night long ago - the concern in his parents' voices and the whisper of the truth that occasionally ate away at the back of his mind. The people who raised, the ones he called mom and dad, were not his real parents. He was adopted and they were scared to tell him the truth, afraid that it would cause a rift in their relationship. And it had, but not in the way they intended.

He didn't care that they were his foster parents. He still loved and cared for them. He was just afraid that they didn't love and care for him as much. Sleeping wasn't helping him get over his thoughts so he tried something else, he got up and opened up his laptop to start reviewing the information Tamer downloaded to his computer. All the data on all the digimon his people catalogued. Scanning through it, Izzy found files on each of the digimon they'd encountered over their travels - Devimon, Leomon, Ogremon, Piximon, Etemon, Datamon, ShogunGekomon, Andromon, and others. But there was other information in there, about digimon they hadn't encountered. Names that came up several times with information that was terrifying - Piedmon, Azulongmon, Zhuqiaomon, Alphamon, Susanoomon, Lucemon, Barbamon, Daemon, and Dragomon were a few of the names that stood out. Each of them had a list of actions next to their attributes. These actions included casually wiping out whole armies and blinking worlds out of existence. In particular, there were notes stating that reality had to be reset several times before Lucemon could be defeated, but it was not listed as killed - something that stood out. Worst yet, none of these digimon had listed weaknesses. There were tips and advice on how to deal with some of them. But most just had one word: Run.

His reading was interrupted by Tentomon remarking, "Izzy. I'm sure the information that Tamer gave you is fascinating, but don't you think it's time you tell your parents?"

"In a minute Tentomon," Izzy said anxiously. Tentomon cocked his head to the side, "Izzy, you can't just keep burying yourself in your computer if something's bothering you."

"What makes you say that?" Izzy said, turning to look at his partner. Tentomon straightened himself out, "Well, you started taking notes on your computer back when you first came to the Digital World. You got really interested in the hieroglyphs when we suggested you have a crush on Mimi. And you're doing nothing but reviewing Tamer's notes when you should be talking to your parents."

Tentomon was right and Izzy knew it. He didn't have to be a genius or have an intelligent mind to figure that out. Izzy straightened himself off his desk and readied himself for what he'd have to do. He'd hoped Tentomon had forgotten but he should have known better - there was nothing else for Tentomon to do but wait in utter boredom. Izzy sighed, "You're right. I'll go tell them."

"I'll go with you," Tentomon jumped up excitedly, only for Izzy to wave him off, "No, not yet. Let me talk to them first. I don't want to shock them when they meet you."

"Okay, partner," Tentomon nodded and sat on his bed while Izzy went out to talk to his parents. He found his dad sitting in the living room, quietly watching the news while his mother worked in the kitchen making dinner. The news ran images of the battle between Kabuterimon and Mammothmon from earlier. The anchor eventually gave way to several pundits who argued amongst themselves if the monster's were a side effect of nuclear radiation, a government conspiracy, beings from another world, or even a sign of the end times. Watching the footage of Kabuterimon throw Mammothmon into a truck made a lump form in his throat, one he desperately forced down. He sheepishly greeted his father, "Hey dad."

"Hey son! Welcome back! How was summer camp?" his father asked, peering over his newspaper to smile at him. Izzy returned the smile and nervously began, "About that, can we talk? All three of us?"

"Of course son, what's this about?" his father looked at him worriedly, "Did something happen at camp?"

* * *

"Mom! Dad! Meet Palmon!" Mimi said as she strode into her parent's apartment in a nicer part of town. The apartment was small, but it made up for its lack of size with a number of splendid furnishings. To her utter delight, both her parents looked at Mimi's digimon partner with fascinated curiosity, "I just love her hair Mimi! How does she do that with her hair?"

"It's natural!" Palmon said excitedly, brushing her petals with her hand. Palmon was a little thrown by how easily Mimi revealed everything to her parents. Even more surprising, her parents were readily accepting of Mimi's partner - perhaps more than they should've been. Her dad rubbed his chin, "So, you and Mimi went on journeys together? That must've been fun."

"It was! We fought a lot of bad guys and got in a lot of trouble, but we always pulled through in the end!" Palmon answered. The two girls went on to tell all about their adventures in the Digital World. When they finished, Mimi playfully picked up Palmon to hug her, "She's so strong! And adorable to boot! She's my new best friend!"

"Aw, Mimi," Palmon blushed while her parents looked on with smiles. Her mother clapped her hands together, "Well, why don't you two best friends hurry and get cleaned up? You must be tired after all those days adventuring!"

"It's been days since we had a nice warm bath!" Mimi agreed, carrying Palmon back into her bedroom while she hummed merrily. The bedroom was a reflection of her own personality - everything from the wallpaper to the color of the sheets was pink, and stuffed animals crowded out the majority of her bed so that there was no room for anything else. Everything about the room blatantly screamed Mimi and, after meeting her parents, it was no surprise that she could speak so freely and directly. However, this also reminded Palmon of her behavior at ShogunGekomon's Palace - the selfish and spoiled behavior Mimi exhibited as a result of her own repressed stress. Palmon wondered if this room was another instance of that. Her parents seemed supportive enough, so Palmon took this to be the case. Mimi rested Palmon among the many plushies and dolls on the bed while she went to go pick out clothes, "You look so adorable next to all my dolls!"

"Really?" Palmon showed her big grinned smile. Mimi pulled out her pajamas and a small pink dress, "Yeah! I want to just dress you up in my doll's clothes!"

"Shouldn't we take a bath first?" Palmon asked. Mimi nodded and smiled devilishly, "We will! But afterwards, you and I are going to try out some clothes!"

Palmon swallowed a lump in her throat and followed Mimi to the bathroom, taking it slowly with each step. A hot bath sounded nice, but she wasn't looking forward to playing dress up. Mimi had her quirks, but everything about their current predicament vaguely reminded her of ShogunGekomon palace. Palmon just couldn't understand why. At least, not until Mimi had gone into the bathroom for the bath. Palmon lingered behind slightly at the door, still bothered by Mimi's lax attitude despite knowing Myotismon was roaming free in the real world. While Mimi went in, Palmon overheard Mimi's parents talking in the living room. Her mother commented, "I know Mimi's always had a wild imagination, but do you think we should be indulging a fantasy like this? At her age, it can't be healthy. And that toy of hers - it's so real! How do you think she got it? You don't think she's-"

"Don't be ridiculous honey. I'm sure it was just a gift from the camp or maybe a friend of hers she met there," Mimi's father concluded, "I wouldn't worry too much about it."

"But the whole fantasy was so well detailed! And you know how she gets when she's stressed! You don't think someone...touched her at camp do you?" her mother worried loudly, "I mean, she comes back messy and smelling awful! And she's carrying that toy around, treating it like it's real!"

"I am real!" Palmon spoke up, startling both her parents. They turned to look at Palmon and sighed, "Oh! Wow, that toy sure is realistic. I don't think I like it skulking around, though."

"I'm not a toy, I'm a Digital Monster!" Palmon corrected them, "You two don't believe Mimi do you?"

"No! No! We do," her father answered. Her mom put a hand to her face, "Honey. Don't tell me you're actually going to talk to the doll."

"I'm not a doll," Palmon said to Mimi's two parents, "Why don't you two believe her? I'm standing right here, aren't I?"

"Well, it's kind of fantastical isn't it?" her mom frowned, "We're supposed to believe that in the one day our daughter spent at summer camp, she went to another world, fought evil monsters, made a best friend out of one of them, and now has to fight them in our city? What are we supposed to think?"

"You could believe she told the truth," Palmon said sternly, "What has Mimi ever done to make you guys doubt her? I mean, you are her parents after all."

"It's complicated," her father replied and Palmon said, "I have time."

"Palmon! Are you coming in?" Mimi said from the bathroom. Palmon called back, "I'll be right there! I'm just having a snack."

Palmon eyed the counter by the kitchen and saw a bowl of fruit. With a snap, her vines whipped out of her arms and grabbed a banana out of the bowl so fast that Mimi's mom gasped. She made a show of biting into it and chewing with her mouth open before swallowing it loudly. She showed her open mouth to them and snarked, "See? Real."

Mimi's parents looked genuinely surprised, a sharp contrast from how accepting they were earlier. But the surprise was more genuine and honest than whatever it was they were doing earlier. Realizing that she might have terrified them, she calmed her tone, "So will you tell me what all of this is about? What makes you think I'm not real?"

Mimi's two parents looked at each other, both looking at the other for support. Eventually, Mimi's mother moved beside her husband and he began, "Mimi's our daughter. We love her and care for her. But she's never handled pressure well - if she's stressed or worried about something, then she starts to act out. She acts childish, delusional, and spoiled. She'll even have a break down if it becomes too much. We indulge her when she gets like this, until she gets to a point where she can calm down and move on."

"You don't have a lot of confidence in Mimi, do you," Palmon said more than asked, "She's a lot more capable than you guys think. In the Digital World, she may get a little prissy but she's always pulled through when I needed her."

"That's a nice thought…um…Palmon. But I think we know our daughter better than you," her father replied.

"And I think you guys lost faith in her," Palmon said back, "You guys don't actually think she's capable of doing things on her own. And she's not stupid, no matter what other people might say. She probably knows you two don't believe in her and who thinks that about their own daughter?"

She realized she might have crossed a line when she said that but she could tell she struck a nerve. Palmon sighed one last time and went to go join Mimi in the bathroom, "You three should really have a nice long talk about this. When this is all over, I mean. Coddling her won't help her. Trust her and encourage her to do what's right. That'd be better."

Palmon rejoined Mimi in the bathroom, where she was busy washing herself on a chair while the tub filled with water. She patted a little yellow stool beside her and said, "Come on Palmon! I'll wash your back for you."

Palmon nodded and sat down on the yellow stool while her partner rinsed off. Palmon wasn't sure what to expect but quietly hummed to herself. Mimi lathered up a bar of soap on a towel and started scrubbing Palmon's back. The sensation was soothing and Palmon found herself falling asleep to the motion, "This feels so good, Mimi."

"I'm glad you like it," Mimi said happily. After the little spat Palmon had with Mimi's parents, a nice relaxing massage was exactly what she needed. At least, until Mimi said, "So, Palmon. What took you so long?"

"Oh, just a talk with your parents," Palmon said anxiously. In her rush to call out Mimi's parents for treating her like she couldn't take care of herself, she realized that she might have offended them. In turn, this could lead to them scolding Mimi or Mimi hating Palmon. She didn't like either of these outcomes.

* * *

Joe and Bukamon returned to his family's place with very little fan fare. Joe usually cowed when it came to doing something he dreaded doing but, to Bukamon's surprise, Joe made no secret of his digimon partner or the Digital World. However, he did handle the situation with a maturity and respect that was both surprising and fitting for him. Rather than have Bukamon pretend to be a doll, he greeted his parents with his partner at his side and calmly explained the situation.

Both of his parents were stern but attentive while Joe explained everything that happened. His early dismissal from the camp due to the sudden snowfall, the trip to the Digital World, meeting Bukamon, fighting the evil digimon. Everything.

His parents didn't react to a word he said, although they did ask questions whenever he stopped. There was a silent intensity to their behavior. Just being around them, everything about Joe began to make sense to Bukamon. His jittery attitude, his deep consideration and thoughtful nature, and the fact that he always seemed anxious, no matter what the case. If Bukamon had to live with people as intimidating as them, he'd be nervous all the time too.

For what it was worth, his Joe's mom was the more considerate of the two parents - her face hinted at silent approval and pride as Joe recounted each of their adventures in detail. It would turn to worry whenever Joe brought up the dangers they faced, but relaxed when he explained how they overcame it. His father, on the other hand, was impossible to read and that was what unnerved Bukamon the most.

Once Joe finished telling his parents everything, his mother smiled, "It sounds like you had a fun time at camp."

"It was different," Joe replied. His father crossed his arms and asked, "So tomorrow, you're going to meet your new friends and try to find the last child?"

Joe nodded, "Sora thinks she knows who it is but we didn't know where she lived. So we went to her apartment because we thought her mother might know where their family moved. Her mom said she would tell us, but only after we went home to our families to tell you what we're doing tomorrow."

Joe's dad shook his head, "I'm disappointed that your friend's mom had to tell you to do this. You shouldn't need a reminder to tell your parents what you're doing at your age, Joe. However, if you were chosen for this responsibility then that means that it is your responsibility. Tomorrow, go and do what you have to do. But tonight, be our son. Spend time with your brothers, eat dinner with your family, take a bath, watch some television after you do some summer studying, and have a good night's sleep in your bed."

Joe nodded, "Okay dad."

"But do the bath first," his mom pointed out, "You smell like you crawled through a sewer."

"You have no idea," Joe stood up and bowed to them. Bukamon wasn't sure how a family was supposed to act but nothing about this seemed right. His parents didn't come off as strict or controlling, just kind of distant. Neither of this compared to how both his parents were incredibly accepting of everything he'd just told them and he had to speak up, "You guys are okay with this?"

"Bukamon!" Joe's voice sounded pleading but his mom nodded, "It's okay Joe. We've heard from you and Bukamon's been politely quiet the whole time. So I think it's okay for him to say his share. To be honest, we're not okay with this. However, if what Joe says is correct, then he was chosen by your world to be its hero. We're strongly opposed to this because we don't like the idea of our son putting his life at risk. This is the role he has to play now, though, and we will support him in this role in whatever way we can."

"Well, it's just that you guys don't really show it," Bukamon pointed out anxiously, "It's...a little weird."

"Don't misunderstand our placative attitude as acceptance or approval," Joe's dad explained, "We love our son and we are worried for him. We may not show it the way traditional families do, but we still deeply care for him."

"You guys are also...well, more accepting of this than I thought you would be," Bukamon added. Joe's mom shrugged, "Is there any reason we shouldn't? We raised Joe to be honest and we trust him implicitly to make the right decisions. He's a reliable and responsible young man in our eyes. We have no reason to doubt Joe or his abilities. We are proud of our son and have no doubt that he will succeed in whatever it is he has to do."

From the corner of his eye, Bukamon noticed Joe was a very bright shade of red. Joe tried to hide his face by looking straight down at his shoes but it was pretty obvious that he was embarrassed - to the point of being uncomfortable. But Bukamon could still see the smallest smile and tears trickling down the side of his face. Joe was probably not used to being praised, otherwise he wouldn't be crying like he was. Not from sadness but joy. Given how formal his family was, this probably shouldn't have been a surprise to Bukamon. As weird as this family was to the little digimon, he couldn't be mad if Joe was happy.

* * *

The little cat ran as fast and as far as it could from its two pursuers. The boy with the funny hair and the orange lizard thing continued their pursuit, keeping up with it no matter where it went. It had run all day from these two and it just couldn't find any way to lose its pursuers. It tried hiding behind trashcans and in gutters, but the two always found its hiding place. So it tried maneuvering through crowds and obstacles, but again the two kept up. Eventually, they cornered it in a dead end alley. There was no place to flee and no place to hide. It turned to face the two pursuers - the boy and the lizard.

The lizard crept towards it, "Here kitty, kitty."

It hissed its one warning to the two. If they came any closer, it would attack them.

"Remember Agumon! Don't hurt it. I don't want to explain to its owner that we killed it," Tamer said.

"It was one time! I haven't used my pepper breath since!" Agumon said. He leapt for the cat and it leapt back, scratching at its face and biting at it. Agumon yelped and screamed, trying to pry the cat off - but it refused to let up. After all the grief they'd given it, it had every intention of paying them back in full. At least until the boy picked it up and pulled it away. The cat was too overwhelmed by the fear of its pursuers to notice it before, but it noticed it now that the boy was close. And it left the cat confused.

The boy had a familiar smell, one that made it relax. It loosened its jaw enough for the boy to retrieve the object it jealously guarded. He yelped with disgust when he saw how much drool was on it and he wiped it off on the lizard's cloak, "Ah! It got drool all over the digivice."

"I know I said I wouldn't hurt it," Agumon said, massaging his snout, "But I'm trying very hard to not reconsider."

"Relax, Agumon," the boy said, "We got the digivice and the cat. Now we just have to return it to its owner."

The boy brushed the cat in his arms and examined the little pink bow around its neck. A little tag dangled off it that the boy turned over in its hands. Normally, the cat would've refused to be handled in this way but it was too confused by the boy's familiar smell to care. Why did this boy smell familiar?

"What's it say?" Agumon asked. The boy examined the tag carefully before finally saying, "I have no idea. Infinite worlds with infinite possible languages - written and spoken. It's my own fault for not memorizing them all."

"Yup, really carrying your weight there boss," Agumon stated. The boy carried the cat in his arms, cradling it in a way that was more comfortable, "Don't worry. We'll just ask someone to read it for us."

"With your luck, you'll pick the one person who can't read," Agumon snarked, following the boy out into street. The cat rested its head on the boy's arms and mewed playfully. Agumon scoffed, "Oh, now it wants to be friendly."

"You just lack my charisma with others," Tamer gloated and Agumon retorted, "With all your enemies, I don't think that's charisma."

"They're your enemies too."

"Yeah, you're right. Hey Myotismon! You can totally kick Tamer's butt. Don't mind me, I just want some food," Agumon joked, making Tamer laugh. The two carried the cat out into the street, while it got comfortable in the boy's arms.

* * *

Izzy's parents stared at him in disbelief. The news in the background was still covering the events from earlier, replaying footage from the battle. He'd told them everything and even brought out Tentomon when he thought it was time to show it to them. And they didn't react - a fact that scared Izzy. This was exactly the reaction he was hoping they wouldn't have. That they didn't care about him as much as normal parents would because he wasn't their child. Then his mother hugged him and started crying, "No. No... no no no no."

"Mom?" Izzy asked in surprise. His dad looked at him from the couch, "Son...that was you on the news?"

Izzy nodded and Tentomon finally spoke up, "Yes. That was my digivolved form Kabuterimon. Izzy used his digivice to lend me some of his power, which allows me to become strong enough to fight evil digimon. He has a crest too but we're not to clear on how that works."

"And there's no way for him to back out of this, is there?" Izzy's father asked. Tentomon nodded and his dad ran off the couch to hug the two most important people in their lives. Izzy was surprised by their reaction but relieved. A great weight came off him as his dad broke out into tears too. Even so, Izzy couldn't stop himself from saying, "You guys are worried?"

"You're our son, Koushiro," his mom said, using his real name, "Why wouldn't we worry?"

Izzy struggled to say the next part, opening and closing his mouth a few times before explaining, "Because...I know I'm adopted."

His mom gasped but his father answered, "That doesn't make you any less our son! We love you Koushiro!"

"But...you never told me," Izzy sighed. His mom added, "Because, we were scared that you'd hate us if we told you."

"Mom, dad, I can't hate you. You're my parents," Izzy's voice broke and he started to cry. He hugged his mom, disappointed that he hurt her by ever thinking that or that he would ever doubt their love for him. His dad asked, "When did you find out?"

It took Izzy a moment to collect himself from crying enough to pull away from his mom, "One night, I couldn't sleep so I went to get some water. You two were talking about it."

His mom kept a hand on his and explained, "It's true. You are adopted Koushiro."

His father also added, "I'm distantly related to your father, but we were always close friends. You take a lot after him; the two of you were always good with puzzles and figuring out things others couldn't. When you were just a baby, they got into a terrible car accident. Your real mom and dad died in the crash, but you survived - a lonely, little baby. And we couldn't just leave you alone. We took you in as our own son and raised you. Even though we're not your biological parents, you're still our son."

"Dad...mom..." Izzy mumbled, tears forming in his eyes again. Tentomon patted his partner and the family hugged again. They held that way for the longest time before breaking away. There was still some emotion over discussing the truth amongst themselves but Izzy's father had to ask, "So you and Tentomon have to save the world from this Myotismon. And the only way to do it is to find this last child?"

Izzy nodded, "Yes."

They discussed this matter more while the news continued to play in the background. There was a lot more for them to talk about but, for the first time in a while, Izzy felt completely at ease. While they talked, they failed to notice a story carry over about several women throughout the city collapsing from anemia - all found with puncture wounds around the neck that resembled a bite. All the victims so far appeared to be young women, and women were urged not to go anywhere alone and to stay safe no matter what.

* * *

Myotismon and the commanders of his digimon army gathered in the sewers beneath Tokyo. Phantomon, Gatomon, Wizardmon and many more prostrated themselves before their master as he glided past them, "What news?"

Wizardmon began, "We've searched the city and found thousands of children at parks, day cares, arcades, schools, beaches, and more. They're everywhere and there's no set concentration of children anywhere in the city. The dispersal is random and follows no clear pattern outside respective family units. To maximize our efficiency and ability to eliminate the last child, I would propose a systematic sweep of all of these locations plus residential areas. A total purge will prevent us from making clerical errors through the search by eliminating any and all children who fail to meet the criteria of the last child."

Phantomon groaned, "For the love of Lucemon! Gatomon! What is Wizardmon saying and can you make him say it in less words?"

"You shouldn't be mad because you can't keep up with him," Gatomon said slyly, "There are kids all over the city and killing them all would be faster than looking for the last child."

"I agree," Myotismon nodded, crossing his arms, "However, we can't afford to let any of them run. Gatomon! Contact MegaSeadramon and Gesomon! Tell them to have their forces prepare a sea barrier around the city. Phantomon, rally the Devidramon and Bakemon. Have a no fly zone ready on my command. Wizardmon, I want you to get everyone else and establish a perimeter around the city. On my instruction, we will wipe the slate clean of this city and all of its inhabitants."

"What about the digidestined? They are here and they have defeated Mammothmon," Gatomon asked curiously. Myotismon smirked, "I found them and sent some of my bats to follow them. If they find the eighth child, I will know. Otherwise, they will certainly find something we can use as leverage against them. Friends, family, loved ones. It doesn't matter."

"With all due respect, Lord Myotismon, isn't this overkill? The humans will respond in force once they know we're here," Phantomon asked. Myotismon smirked, "No. I know I said we are looking for the last child, but there are really five children that need to be found. Those five will defeat me - a fate I can prevent if they perish. A fate we can all avoid if we stop them. Do you have the outline of their defenses?"

"Yes, there are two airbases nearby: Tachikawa and Yokota," Phantomon said. Myotismon added, "Include them in your no fly zone. Strike there first. Keep the humans grounded and cut them off so that they can't respond."

"As you wish, Master Myotismon," the Phantomon lowered his head into a bow and disappeared. The other digimon followed suit, departing to carry out their duties. Myotismon folded his arms and his lips curled into a sinister smile.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Myotismon's goal is now clear, and his armies are on the move. But there's still no sign of the eighth child. Will the digidestined be okay? What about their families? To find out, come back for the next update in two weeks on Friday, May 13th at 5 PM CST. 'But Leonardo1123581321!' you scream at me from across the street, terrifying my dog into hiding behind me, 'Why two weeks?' Admittedly, I'm burned out from the conference and work - I'd like a little time to relax. And to get my cosplay ready for a con. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I usually respond in a day or two, unless you leave a guest review. Then I'll reply in the next update! I also welcome constructive criticism and guesses on what will happen next. And now, previews for next again. Once again, these are in no particular order and were pulled randomly from the next chapter:

"I'm Sora's mother. You remember me, right?" her mother frowned.

TK squealed excitedly, "Patamon! You and I are going to ride that after we're done!"

"You know what I'm talking about Gatomon," Wizardmon replied.

"Patamon! Digivolve to! Angemon!"

"I'm…Kari," the girl answered weakly.


	25. Battle on the Bridge

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Funny story. I just realized that I'd been copy pasting an incorrect disclaimer for several chapters. Woo. Life, huh? Anyway, thanks to all the new readers who liked and favorited the story, as well as those of you who left reviews. An even bigger thanks to Ace Spiritwell for creating the cover art for this story - seriously, go check out their fanfiction and deviant art accounts. On that note, also check out the deviant art and fan fiction of BelenDigiEvolution for their awesome fan art! Seriously! Check them both out! Now for two separate guest reviews.

 **Guest 1:** Okay.

 **Guest 2:** No, no, and no. Sorry. Better luck next time.

Alright! Let's start the next chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure.

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 25: Battle on the Bridge**

The kids woke bright and early the next morning after the first good night's rest any of them had in a long time. Their parents, on the other hand, spent the night worrying about what would happen to their children. There were just too many unknowns. Who were the monsters that needed to be stopped, would they succeed, would they fail, were they going to die, and why their children? These questions and more raced through their minds when all they wanted was nothing more than for their kids to be safe. This led to some hesitation when the time came for their kids to leave, but they allowed them to set out in the end. To go back to Sora's home.

Her mother greeted them at the door and she ushered them inside to find Sora and Yokomon quietly watching the news. More stories flooded the channel about women collapsing from anemia, possible monster sightings, and peculiar weather phenomenon. The monster sightings had her worried most, because it meant Myotismon and his army were on the move.

The eighth digidestined was out there - Kari Kamiya, and every second they wasted here was another second they came closer to finding the little girl. Sora's mother met them at the living room, and promptly asked, "You've all told your parents?"

They nodded and Sora's mom breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good. Since you all did what I asked, I'll tell you where the Kamiya family moved."

"Not all of us," Gabumon piped up, "Matt didn't tell his dad about what we're doing."

"Gabumon," Matt moaned, looking up at the others shyly. It wasn't like he could since his dad never came home from work that night. If he had to guess, his dad was probably taking extra hours at work since he wasn't expecting Matt to be home from camp yet. Sora's mother looked at him sternly, "Matt, your father has a right to know what his son is involved in."

"It'll be fine, I told our mom!" TK said for his brother's defense.

"Your mom?" Sora's mother folded her arms, unamused. Matt reminded them that their parents were divorced, so they did not live together. This didn't appease Sora's mother, "Matt, you really should have told your father."

"Does it really matter right now?" Matt asked, "Myotismon and his goons are out there, somewhere. We shouldn't waste any more time on this."

"Matt, the point was to let our parents know what we're up to," Izzy conveyed, "Imagine what your dad would think if anything happened to you?"

"Look, can we just go already? I'll apologize later!" Matt shook his head, "Where's the last child live? Kari or whatever."

Sora's mom maintained her stern look of disapproval but conceded Matt's point. She produced an old address book and thumbed through it, "The Kamiya family moved around the same time our family did. We fell out of touch after Tai's funeral but their family life was strained after he died. Or, well, his apparent death. The last time we spoke, they lived in Odaiba - in an apartment complex near the ferris wheel."

"Oh! The Daikanransha!" TK squealed excitedly, "Patamon! You and I are going to ride that after we're done!"

"Sounds fun!" Patamon nodded.

"Let's stay focused guys," Sora chastised them, "We need to find Kari first."

"She is right," Biyomon said, "Even if we do find the eighth digidestined, we don't know who their partner is supposed to be! And Myotismon still has the crest!"

* * *

In another part of the city, Gatomon continued her prowl - making contact with the various groups of Myotismon's army. They'd scattered around to better position themselves and were told to await further orders. The more humanoid ones were able to disguise themselves in the humans' clothes, but the larger ones had to hide themselves to keep from causing panic.

She was strolling along one of the overpasses the humans built to cross their own roads, which were ruled by fast moving vehicles they called cars. From atop the bridge of cement and steel, she cast her eyes downward onto the sidewalks, observing the adults going to their jobs and the kids running around playing. For some of them, this would be their last day - but perhaps it was better that they didn't know. As Myotismon said, there were five children who would be key in defeating him. If they died now, then who would be there to stop him? Of course, killing them all was faster than just looking for the five they needed – especially if they'd have nowhere to run.

She thought of all the horrible and cruel ways he could kill them, shivering with fear as each idea ran through her mind. Some she'd experience first hand at Myotismon's own whim, when they'd first met long ago. It was so long ago that she wasn't sure how much of it was memory and how much was a distant dream. Both filled her with dread. Before Myotismon, she remembered always being alone - waiting for someone in vain. It was impossible to tell how long she waited, but she knew she gave up on waiting and went out to find this person instead. But she found no warm welcome in the Digital World, which she learned could be unfairly cruel and undecidedly indifferent to her hardship. Over her journey, she found that the small and weak lived under the mercy of the strong, and that only those who were strong could survive. Through frozen tundras, misty swamps, burning sands, and barren plains, she found that she was always on her own. And at the end of her long journey, she found Myotismon waiting for her. He took her 'under his wing' to 'train and condition' her for the harsh reality of the Digital World.

And she hated him for it, at first. Now, she simply feared him. In his own words, he would beat the defiant look out of her and make her the perfect weapon for his war. She didn't want to work for and serve under him, but she was too afraid to think of defying him. The thought of being whipped and beaten still made her blood boil. But the knowledge that he was holding back and toying with her for his own amusement cooled her down. After all, she'd witnessed first hand how deadly he could be when he actually wanted to kill someone - and there was a cold efficiency to his methods that was also needlessly cruel.

Long ago, a village of digimon tried to rebel against Myotismon. Rather than send one of his own to deal with the problem, Myotismon went to deal with it in person. The digimon couldn't even hope to fight back, as he went about slaughtering them methodically - starting with the strongest to scare the weakest. The weakest were given a chance to surrender, then killed anyway to make a point. He wouldn't tolerate defiance. For Gatomon, the cruelest part was being forced to watch. There was little that stood out over her long life of servitude to Myotismon, but she could still remember the faces of the digimon as they screamed and begged to be spared.

Would the humans make the same faces and screams when Myotismon went about enacting his plans? Thinking on it, she had carried out her part and informed his planted soldiers to prepare a perimeter around the city's shoreline. There wouldn't be much for them to do on this little island called Odaiba - a man-made island connected to the main city by several bridges. When the bridges were destroyed, there would be nowhere for the humans to flee except out to the sea. Even then, they wouldn't get far with MegaSeadramon and Gesomon patrolling the waters. And all the other nasty aquatic digimon.

She carried on her way, taking note of a little girl with short brown hair wearing a yellow sleeveless shirt, pink shorts with matching neckerchief, and little pink shoes. She looked sickly and tired, but she called out as loud as she could, "Miko! Come here kitty! Where'd you go?"

Gatomon mused at the idea of being a common house cat, a creature free to do as it pleased within the home of the humans on the condition that it never broke their rules. The thought of being enslaved and treated as a pet by these weak creatures disgusted her - being forced to brush against them to show affection, having to relieve herself in a box, being forced to eat fish, drink their milk from a saucer, and sleeping in a soft bed beside them. It dawned on Gatomon that all of those things sounded very inviting, and it distracted her from what she was doing. She was so distracted, she didn't notice the girl was now standing in front of her, "Hello, little kitty. Are you a friend of Miko's?"

Gatomon followed her training and sank to all fours like a normal cat in the human world. She mewed in an uncharacteristically cute way, and cocked her head to the side. The girl blinked and frowned, "I guess not. That was a neat trick you did earlier. Who taught you to stand on two legs?"

"Meow," Gatomon said, pretending to lick her paw. The girl coughed, but still managed to awe in adoration. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a fish shaped biscuit, "Do you want a treat?"

Gatomon sniffed the treat in the little girl's hand and caught the delicious scent of tuna. She really wanted to take it but knew better than to take anything from the humans. Against her better wishes, she turned to walk away from the girl but couldn't help herself from looking back once to smell the treat again. The girl had dropped it on the ground and began swaying. She put her hand to her head and weakly murmured, "I don't feel too good."

Gatomon watched curiously as the girl sank to her knees and passed out on the ground. Gatomon looked around nervously – hoping someone would notice the passed out the girl. She didn't know why she cared more than she should have. She only knew that she couldn't bear to leave the girl alone and set out in search of help. The little cat didn't get far before she found another girl and boy walking towards her. Both had spiky hair, but the girl's was longer and red while the boy's was short and brown. The girl was slightly older and holding the little boy's hand while he protested, "Jun! I don't need you to hold my hand."

"I'll believe that when you don't go wandering off on your own, Davis," the girl named Jun stated.

"I don't go wandering off on my own," Davis protested. Jun giggled, "Said the boy who can't pay attention to anything!"

"I can too pay attenti…ooh! A cat!" Davis oohed at the sight of Gatomon. She'd found her help - now she just had to guide them back to the little girl. She meowed to keep their attention and spotted the action figure in the boy's hand. The two kids awed at her, before she leapt towards them to snatch the action figure in her mouth.

"Hey!" Davis snapped at the cat. Gatomon took off back for the girl, slowing her pace to let the boy and girl keep up. She guided them back to the overpass walkway and made sure to drop the toy beside the unconscious girl. Davis caught up right away but was too transfixed by the passed out little girl to notice Gatomon slip away, "Oh no. Hey! Jun! This girl needs help."

"Davis, what are you talking ab-" Jun stopped when she saw what Davis was talking about and gasped, "Hey! Are you okay?"

Gatomon moved for the other side of the overpass, staying just out of sight but within earshot to hear the girl stir. Jun asked, "Hey! Are you okay? What happened?"

"Sick," the girl coughed, "Went to…look for cat."

"You shouldn't be out when you're sick. What's your name?" Jun asked.

"I'm…Kari," the girl answered weakly.

"Do you live nearby Kari?" Jun asked, "We'll take you there."

Kari mumbled something incoherent and Jun nodded, "Okay. We'll take you home!"

Jun and Davis helped Kari stand up, then Jun carried Kari piggyback style. Gatomon watched them hurry down the crosswalk and up the street. She breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the girl would be okay. She didn't know why she cared so much - the three kids would be dead by the end of the afternoon anyway. Her moment of relief was ruined by the arrival of Wizardmon, "That was uncharacteristically kind of you."

"Wizardmon," Gatomon groaned, "How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me?"

She turned to face her cloaked friend, lowering his collar to reveal his face. The stitches on his mouth and the inquisitive yet dull look in his eyes were strangely relaxing. It was a rarity among Wizardmon-type digimon, but it was something he did regularly around her. Supposedly, it was a sign of deep respect and familiarity for a Wizardmon to ever show their true face. Sometimes, Gatomon wished he wouldn't act so familiar - not with the eyes and ears of Myotismon in every direction.

"Sorry, Gatomon," Wizardmon chuckled, "I just thought that was rather fitting of you. To do something kind for others, like you did for me so many years ago."

Gatomon frowned, "Myotismon will kill you if he hears you talking like that. Then me."

"But he's not here to hear it," Wizardmon pointed out, "Besides, he's not the only one drawing plans and schemes. The Tamer and Agumon are carrying out their own agenda. As am I."

"What are you talking about Wizardmon?" Gatomon asked, looking at her friend curiously. He was always odd, with his easy fascination for literally anything, and his indiscernible speech - but he never seemed like the plotter. He was usually too preoccupied with some new discovery to actually do anything long term.

"You know what I'm talking about Gatomon," Wizardmon replied, "I owe you my life, so I've made it my purpose to serve you - whatever that may entail. Even you may have noticed it - you had difficulty fighting the digidestined, and you helped that little girl. Hardly the traits of soldiers in Myotismon's army."

"What are you getting at Wizardmon? Can you just hurry up and get to the chase?" Gatomon stood upright and started tapping her foot impatiently. Wizardmon sighed, "Did you know the gate serves a dual purpose, Gatomon? You can use it to travel to other worlds, like we did to cross the boundaries into this world. But it serves another purpose, one I learned by accident."

"And what is that?" Gatomon asked, indulging Wizardmon. She hated his cryptic and mysterious tendencies but she always indulged her friend anyway. If she didn't know better, she'd think he got off on this.

"Gatomon, I glimpsed the fringes of reality and learned the truths of our existence. What should be, what will be, what can't be, what must not. Gatomon, you know as well as I that you don't belong with Myotismon. You are not a bad digimon, despite your reputation," Wizardmon stated. Gatomon snorted, "After everything we've done, you're seriously going to look me in the eye and say I'm good?"

"You helped that little girl. There was no reason for you to do it. You had nothing to gain. But you helped her anyway."

"Was that before or after I killed countless digimon on Myotismon's orders? Oh! I remember, it was when I helped Myotismon with his plan to murder humans!" Gatomon retorted mockingly.

Wizardmon remained insistent, "None of that was of your own accord. Although you may doubt it, you have always been a good digimon. Yes, you follow Myotismon's orders, but you've also chosen the more merciful path when it presented itself. Or did you forget that you didn't kill the digidestined or their digimon at the gate? You could've easily finished them off for good, but you chose not to because Myotismon didn't tell you to kill them. And if you wish to prove me wrong, then why don't we follow that girl you helped? After all, it shouldn't be too hard for a digimon of your skill to finish off a poor, weak, sick little girl."

"Fine!" Gatomon fumed, stomping off after the three kids. She would show Wizardmon how wrong he was - she would kill that little girl. Then Wizardmon would see that she was not a good digimon. She was a cruel, uncaring, and rotten as any other digimon under Myotismon's employ. But his questions raised doubts in her heart. She was doing this because she had to, but did she want to? It didn't matter. Myotismon's plan would be carried out once the fog rolled in.

* * *

The digidestined and their digimon partners sat in Sora's mother's van while she drove them to the Kamiya family. They'd tried calling ahead but the phone still continued to have problems, so they sat in silence on the drive over - anxious that something happened. The only noise came from the radio, which Sora's mom tuned to a news station. The announcer was talking about a string of women collapsing from anemia all across Tokyo, strange weather patterns across the globe attributed to climate change, and increasing reports of possible monster sightings. The announcer urged calm and asked anyone suffering from hallucinations to report to the nearest medical facility.

There was also the question of where Tamer and Agumon had run off to. Izzy fiddled with his digivice to find the search function Tamer and Agumon used to track down the eighth digivice, but could only get it to start playing music in a language no one understood. They didn't know what it was, but it was so loud that Sora's mom ended up swerving the car into oncoming traffic in surprise. Mimi screamed at him to turn it down and Izzy frantically began pressing buttons to silence the screaming digivice. Eventually, he was able to turn off the screaming digivice in time for Sora's mom to correct the car.

Joe groaned, "Let's never do that again."

"Are you alright TK?" Matt asked his little brother, who nodded happily, "Yeah! That was fun! It was like bumper cars!"

"What's a bumper car?" Yokomon asked from Sora's lap, bobbing up and down excitedly, "If it's anything like that, it'll be a blast."

"We'll show you guys when we get to Odaiba!" TK said excitedly, "But we have to ride the ferris wheel first!"

"TK, we're going to find the eighth digidestined," Sora reminded the little boy, "Don't forget! Myotismon and his army are out there."

"Which is why, the sooner the better," Sora's mom said, turning the car onto the turnpike and continuing onto the Rainbow Bridge. The air grew denser and foggier as they crossed the bridge, obscuring the mainland and the island of Odaiba ahead. It only took a minute to get across, but the fog rolled in so quickly that it obscured the other side before they even got halfway.

"This fog came out of nowhere. What is with this weird weather we're having?" Sora's mom commented. Izzy was the one to come to an answer, although it was speculative, "I've been curious about that since we returned. The snow preceded our transportation to the Digital World, and melted as soon as we returned. It's entirely possible that the global weather patterns are a response to the connection between the Digital and Real Worlds."

"Myotismon brought an army though," Tentomon added, "And we haven't seen anything until now."

"That's just it, Tentomon," Izzy said, looking out the window into the dense fog, "I'm wondering if Myotismon if finally making his move."

As if to confirm his fears, the radio was distorted by static and the announcer's voice strained before being cut off entirely, "Breaking news…orts come in…reas of the city are cov…fog. Official…sing everyone to…tay indoors until…drivers are cautioned…"

The radio finally went dead and Sora's mom started pushing buttons on the console to find another station. She went through every channel and only received dead air in response. The kids were now looking out the windows anxiously, waiting for something to happen. The clock on the dash indicated the time was noon. The bridge shook violently, and the car in front of them suddenly stopped - forcing them to slide and swerve to avoid causing an accident. Traffic in both directions ground to a halt and drivers started exiting their cars in annoyance. The bridge shook again, more violently than last time. Sora's mom gasped, "This doesn't look like an earthquake."

There was a loud crashing sound behind them, and then screams. People came running from behind the van, glancing back in horror but continuing to run in fear. Their attention turned out the rear window, into the dense fog from which more people emerged running and screaming. Behind them was the silhouette of a large white tentacle that slammed down against the bridge and cut it in half. Cars slid backwards as the bridge collapsed behind them, falling into the water below. Some were empty, but others were still occupied. The occupants struggled against their seat belts and the doors, only to slide off the bridge and plunge into the water below. The van started sliding as well, and Sora's mother screamed, "Everyone get out! Now!"

They didn't need telling twice. They hurried out of the car as fast as they could while it slid backwards. Thankfully, they all managed to get out okay before the van flew off the edge and crashed into the waters below. The tentacle came crashing down along the bridge again, collapsing the side closer to the mainland. The digidestined and their partners hurried up the bridge, taking care to avoid the cars sliding backwards. While they ran, Sora and Yokomon glimpsed one car that slid backwards from which they could see a young woman screaming against the glass of her driver side window. The woman was unable to remove her seatbelt or open the door in time, and so she screamed as she plummeted to the water below. But it was what they saw in the car with the young woman that stunned Sora.

A car seat for a baby, which they could see wailing in distress as the car crashed into the water. The fog thinned slightly for them to see the unmistakable image of a large white squid with fangs gnashing at anyone who survived the fall into the water below. Her first thought was to run back and help them, but she was brought back to her senses by her mother, "Sora! The bridge is collapsing!"

Sora hurriedly joined the others at a level part of the bridge, trying to ignore the screams for help below as the squid digimon started picking off survivors. She carried Yokomon in her arms, holding her close while sprinting across the collapsing bright, to a part that was still standing upright. Her mother hugged her once she rejoined them, and made sure she was okay before looking back, "Is that one of those digimon who works for Myotismon?"

"It looks that way," Gomamon frowned, "That's Gesomon, a mollusk digimon. Don't let his appearance fool you, he's smarter than most digimon! But they usually keep to themselves and only fight when you enter their territory."

"Well, it looks like this one didn't like the bridge," Mimi chastised it.

"We need to help them!" Izzy said, "Tentomon! Digivolve and use your arms to carry people out!"

"Yokomon?" Sora asked her partner. She nodded her little head, "I've been itching to get back in there since the fight in the castle."

"You too Gomamon! Get in there and distract that big old squid!" Joe cheered. The three digimon nodded and leapt out into the water. Their digivices hummed to life and their partners declared.

"Yokomon! Digivolve to! Biyomon!"

"Tentomon! Digivolve to! Kabuterimon!"

"Gomamon! Digivolve to! Ikakumon!"

"Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

Ikakumon landed on top of the unsuspecting Gesomon, and was flattened under the water. Several humans held in his tentacles were released and fell screaming. Kabuterimon and Birdramon dove in, grabbing everyone they could before they slammed into the water and carried them back to the bridge. This didn't stop them from screaming in terror though, not that any of the kids could blame them. Sora looked down into the water and caught site of the car from earlier, with the woman now slamming against the window and called out to her partner, "Birdramon! The cars! There are still people in those cars!"

Birdramon nodded and went back into the water, scanning for cars that still had people inside them. She grabbed the one with the woman first and tried to pull it out of the water, but the load was too heavy for her. Kabuterimon had his hands full with other people he'd scooped out of the water so Palmon stepped in with her vines, wrapping them around the car to help Birdramon carry them out. Birdramon lowered the car onto the bridge and the digidestined set about trying to open the car. The door jammed during the fall and no amount of prying on the doors could get it open. So Birdramon used her talons to rip the door clean off its frame. The woman reached into the back of the car to protect her baby and screamed, "NO! GO AWAY!"

"It's okay! We're here to help!" Sora tried explaining to the woman, whose eyes stayed focused on the giant bird digimon before her. She was too terrified to notice Sora trying to get her attention. Thankfully, her mother was there to talk sense into the young woman, "It's okay! It's okay! This bird's a friend of my daughter. She's here to help us. They'll take care of everything, so get your baby to safety while you can."

The child still wailed, but the woman was at least focusing on Sora's mom. She nodded her understanding and hurried towards the Odaiba side of the bridge. Sora's mom sighed and looked to her daughter proudly, as if to say she was glad she was doing what she could. Sora smiled back and said to Birdramon, "Keep searching for more cars! There are still more people down there who need help!"

"Got it!" Birdramon said, returning back to the water below. Kabuterimon carried more people off to safety and Ikakumon grappled with Gesomon in the water. Gesomon's movements were wild, with complete disregard for the well being of the humans while Ikakumon kept trying to maneuver Gesomon around them. This wasn't enough to save every one, and some people ended up thrown aside by Gesomon's writhing tentacles.

Seeing all of the lifeless bodies floating in the water below was the grim reminder that the fight had come to their world. But unlike the digimon, those people were not going to come back. And what of those who were trapped in the cars? A good number of cars disappeared beneath the water's surface - who was to say how many people were trapped, beyond their ability to help. Just thinking about it made her angry, furious at the Gesomon. She'd hesitated before with every other digimon, but now Sora knew what she wanted. She wanted Gesomon to pay! She was so mad, that her fists shook in frustration.

Then the train horn sounded and reminded her the fight was far from over. Following the sound, they spotted the remains of the train tracks on the lower level of the bridge. They couldn't see the train, but they could hear its horn blaring and the screech of its brakes. Birdramon and Kabuterimon were too busy carrying people out of the water to notice, and Ikakumon was still fighting Gesomon in the water. Neither Palmon nor Gabumon would be able to clear the gap to the other side of the bridge, even if they digivolved. Which left one digimon - Patamon. TK looked out across the fog and said, "Patamon! The train! It's going to fall!"

"I got it!" Patamon said, leaping out of TK's arms, "Patamon! Digivolve to! Angemon!"

It was an amazing sight to see Angemon again after the battle with Devimon. The light from his body was so bright that it broke through the fog and cleared the area around the bridge - letting them see the train roaring through the lower levels towards the end of the tracks. The breaks were engaged but wouldn't slow it down enough to stop it from going over the edge. Angemon rushed in and threw himself in front of the train, bracing himself for the impact. He caught the brunt of the force with his arms and pushed against the train to slow it down, sending all of the passengers lurching forward from the impact. He roared and pushed as hard as he could, derailing the train but doing little from stopping its momentum.

"YOU CAN DO IT ANGEMON!" TK cheered, encouraging him to give one more push. Angemon gave it all he had and the train started to slow just as the first car went over the bridge. No longer restricted by the tracks and free to move his wings, Angemon started flying upwards to shift the train's momentum. With the train car angled up, gravity would work in his favor to help slow it down and he was able to stop the train before the second car came off the bridge. As he lowered the car, it slid back into the bridge and he was able to put it on to the tracks. The scared passengers within looked up at him in awe and he offered a smile to calm them down. Some sank to their knees in prayer while others backed away in fear. Many of them expected to die just moments ago when the train was about to go into the water, only to be saved at the last moment by an angel. Who wouldn't be overcome by surprise?

A few smiled back weakly, but the moment ended when a red serpent emerged from the water to wrap around Angemon, dragging him into the water. Although he was gone, they could still see some of his light through the waves but even that vanished to darkness. TK screamed in horror, "ANGEMON! NO!"

He'd seen his partner die once. He didn't want to see that again. He refused to see it and the thought of it made him mad. He shook with rage and choked out, "ANGEMON! COME BACK!"

"Ikakumon! Help him!" Joe shouted to his partner, only to be answered with, "I'm a little busy right now!"

Ikakumon was wrapped in Gesomon's tentacles and could hardly move, so he resorted to sinking his massive fangs into Gesomon's body. Gesomon released Ikakumon and retreated beneath the water. Ikakumon growled, "AND DON'T COME BACK!"

"Ikakumon! They have Angemon!" Joe shouted again. Ikakumon groaned - he was the only one who could go underwater so he was the only one who could help. Before he could dive under, a beam of light shot out of the water and threw Gesomon out of the water. The large squid screamed before bursting into a cloud of data. Angemon flew out of the water behind him, still aglow with light but gasping desperately for air. TK calmed down when his partner came back into view and asked, "Angemon! Are you okay?"

Angemon gave a thumbs up but ascended into the air as the red serpent reemerged through the water's surface. Its body was still obscured by the fog, but they could vaguely make out the shape of a Seadramon, only larger. The serpent growled at Angemon and watched him soar through the skies.

"What is that?" Sora's mom gasped.

"It looks like Seadramon!" Matt answered.

"It's MegaSeadramon, the digivolution of Seadramon," Palmon answered, "He's a lot smarter than Seadramon, and a lot more persistent. When he locks on to a target, he follows that target nonstop until he has it."

"Thunder Javelin!" MegaSeadramon growled, a blast of lightning emerging from a metallic horn on its head. The bolt arced its way through the sky unpredictably and Angemon only managed to move out of its way at the last second. The bolt continued skyward and disappeared into the clouds where there was a loud boom. Debris rained from the sky as a passenger jet careened out of the fog to reveal its left wing ablaze. Sora, Izzy, and TK called out to their flying digimon - if that plane hit the water, it would kill everyone still on board and do who knows what else to those nearby. Their three flying digimon each grabbed to a portion of the plane and guided it into the water away from the survivors swimming for shore. MegaSeadramon saw his opportunity for a larger target and prepared to fire another bolt of electricity until Ikakumon rammed into it at full speed. The bolt fired from its horn but arced into a nearby park - leveling a playground and setting a few trees on fire.

"Harpoon Torpedo!" Ikakumon pressed his horn into MegaSeadramon, and it exploded in his face as he fired the attack. The impact was enough to knock him back to the rookie Gomamon, but MegaSeadramon only flinched in surprise. Gomamon fell into the water unconscious, floating belly up with the currents. MegaSeadramon eyed his prize gleefully and opened his maw to devour the unconscious digimon.

"Gomamon!" Joe called out to his partner. Birdramon, Angemon, and Kabuterimon were still trying to guide the plane down - and Gabumon and Palmon would be useless in the water since neither could swim. He called out to his partner again, "Gomamon! Wake up!"

Gomamon didn't stir. They had to distract him while the others set the plane down. Gabumon shot a blast of blue flame, "Blue blaster!"

The flame struck MegaSeadramon and brought his attention on Gabumon. He blinked once at the little digimon and returned to trying to eat Gomamon. Gabumon was offended, "Did he just ignore me?"

"He's going to eat him!" Joe shouted as MegaSeadramon's mouth hung over his partner.

"Agumon! Digivolve to! Greymon!" through the fog, they saw the large form of Greymon emerge and tackle MegaSeadramon into the water. Caught off guard, MegaSeadramon turned his head to bite at Greymon only to find itself where Greymon wanted it. Greymon kept MegaSeadramon's mouth pried open and roared, "I!"

He breathed a blast of fire into MegaSeadramon's mouth, "HOPE!"

Another blast went down MegaSeadramon's mouth, "YOU'RE!"

One last ball of fire shot down MegaSeadramon's mouth, "HUNGRY!"

MegaSeadramon was thrown aside into one of the columns supporting the bridge, shaking the structure. Sora's mother gasped, "No way. Sora, I didn't know Godzilla was a digimon."

"That's Greymon," Sora explained to her surprised, "That's Agumon's digivolved form. Like how Yokomon became Birdramon!"

"Agumon?" her mom asked. Sora added with a nod, "That orange dinosaur that was with Tai yesterday. And if he's here, then that means-"

"Hey guys! So this is where you were! Not that it would've been hard to find you. Just follow the screams and explosions, like I usually do when I'm looking for you," Tamer appeared beside them. Everyone was caught off guard by Tamer's sudden appearance. He stood beside them calmly with a cat wrapped snuggled in his white cloak, and cradled it in his arms. Tamer stroked the cat calmly and added, "Thanks for your help in catching the cat, by the way. Agumon and I only chased it all night. I'm not mad though. Just really annoyed - this cat is our only clue to finding the last child but, hey, that's not a big deal. By the way, do any of you guys know how to read? The tag is all gibberish to me. I asked this one guy, but then he got mad. Something about stolen clothes and then he called me a thief. We spent all night running from him too! He changed his face a few times, and I think he became a woman at one point. But I could tell it was the same person because of the clothes and the badge. That was fun. Anyway, yeah, the tag."

"Where did you come from?" Joe asked, looking around at the nearly deserted bridge. Tamer pointed across the broken bridge and answered, "Over there. It was a heck of a walk."

"But the bridge is gone," Izzy observed of the bridge, "Did you walk on the air?"

"Well, walk...climb down to the water and jump from car to car...same difference, right?" Tamer shrugged, still stroking the cat, "This little guy, or is it a girl, got really mad when I got close to the water. Have you ever tried jumping across water while holding a cat? It's not fun. Believe me, I know. I just did that! Especially when you can't see five feet in front of you. The giant fighting monsters didn't help."

Greymon had MegaSeadramon in a headlock but MegaSeadramon had wrapped its body around him in turn. The two digimon had every intention of choking the other to death, it was just a question of who would give out first. It looked like MegaSeadramon would win - it was the higher-level digimon and Greymon was at a disadvantage in the water. Until Greymon did something none of them expected. With a swift motion and a loud crack, MegaSeadramon went limp when Greymon cracked its neck. The splash of water was so high that they all got wet, and Sora's mom gasped at the brutality of the kill.

Greymon paddled through the water to Gomamon and regressed back to Agumon, latching on to the small digimon from sinking. The other three champions helped land the plane into the water at a slide to keep it from sinking, and were already going through the laborious task of moving everyone onto bridge. Angemon took the time to carry Agumon and Gomamon back to the bridge with the others. Agumon shook off the water and grumbled, "Haven't had to fight in the water for a while. I forgot how much I hate doing that."

"Why do you think I didn't jump in?" Tamer joked, earning him a slap. Angemon departed to help Birdramon and Kabuterimon rescue more people.

"Did you just kill an ultimate?" Sora asked, and Agumon nodded, "Yep. The advantage of Seadramon types is their mobility. They're not all that strong and rely more on the fact that it's hard to get them to stand still. Restrict their mobility and it's easy to deal a killing blow. In this case, just break its neck."

"I'm surprised though. You guys usually don't support this kind of stuff," Tamer added to their surprise. But it was hard to protest, now that their battles had come home to their world. They looked down into the water below the bridge - where MegaSeadramon's body was turning to data, leaving behind only the bodies of the humans disappearing into the depths below. But there was still plenty of debris in the water, and the fuselage of the plane brought down by MegaSeadramon's bolt. Seeing all the destruction made it hard to argue with the deaths of either digimon. Myotismon warned them that they would have one chance to prevent what was to come - did he mean this? No, of course not. He still had an army. It would only get worse from here.

"And now that I think about it," Tamer turned to face TK, "I think that brings your score up to two! I'll have to get you a drink. When you're old enough, I mean. You're too young to drink. Remind me when you're old enough to drink."

"Drink what?" TK asked.

"When you're older," Tamer replied.

"We are not keeping score of this!" Sora hissed.

"We are," Tamer smiled, pointing at himself and Agumon, "Zero point five."

"What?"

"Etemon," Tamer said, reminding Sora of the battle of the pyramid. She hadn't really thought about it, but she and Garudamon had killed the Etemon-Datamon monstrosity. It didn't bother her as much as she thought it would. But she did protest, "Hey! Shouldn't that be one!?"

"I thought you weren't keeping count," Agumon joked.

"It's because you didn't kill him," Tamer replied, "Don't worry. It'll make sense when we get to it. Well, it'll make sense to them."

He pointed at Joe and Mimi. Joe was inspecting the unconscious Gomamon, and cradling him the way Tamer held the cat, which purred calmly in his arm. Amidst his joking, Sora's mother finally voiced her disapproval, "Tai...don't tell me you condone this."

Sora's mom looked at the boy, who returned it with a confused look, "Gesundheit. You people really need to cover your noses when you sneeze."

Her mother looked at them all in disbelief, "Is this…what you kids did in the Digital World?"

"Not all the time," Gabumon answered, "There was a lot of running, eating, sleeping, making friends. Oh, and a concert! But that's a long story."

"And you said when you came back to this world, it was only a few minutes?" she asked. Sora nodded and her mother looked to Tamer with genuine concern, "You were dead for four years. It must have been an eternity for you. What happened to make you like this? You used to be such a sweet kid."

Tamer shrugged, "Was I? Sorry. Old age catches up to you in weird ways and you start to forget things. Also, who are you and why do you look familiar?"

"I'm Sora's mother. You remember me, right?" her mother frowned. Tamer scratched his chin, "Nope. Not ringing a bell. Wait, did Agumon and I come in to your apartment looking for a cat?"

"Yes!"

"That narrows it down to twenty-five people," Tamer concluded, "Were you the one in the towel? There was another guy in a towel with you. Kept yelling at us to leave you alone."

"What? No!" Sora's mom gasped while Mimi snickered. Palmon asked what was so funny and Mimi promised to tell her later. Tamer went on, "I guess it doesn't really matter. Oh! Before I forget, can you guys help us out with this cat's tag? We were going to return it to its owner, but I can't read what's written on there. We find the owner, we find the last digidestined."

Tamer held up the cat for them to look at, and the cat protested being held the way it was. Sora's mom took a quick look at the name tag and read, "Miko Kamiya, Kamiya Family...wait, this is where we're going!"

"Really? Fantastic! That'll save us time," Tamer smiled, "Wait, why are you guys going there?"

"Tai, we think your sister is the last digidestined," Sora explained, "We were going to meet your family."

Tamer blinked, and looked like he was trying to stifle a laugh but said calmly, "Not this again. Look, Sora. I'm not your friend Tai. So will you stop calling me that?"

Sora opened her mouth to talk again, but refrained at the sound of crying. Birdramon, Angemon and Kabuterimon moved the last of the passengers from the plane to the bridge. Angemon regressed to Patamon and rejoined TK but the others stayed behind. There was a terrified little boy, just a little younger than TK crying out in fear. His parents were trying to calm him down but were having little success in the presence of the two large champion level monsters around them. Tamer held out the cat to Agumon, "Hold this, please."

He held the cat in an awkward position and it protested being held that way again. Before Agumon could even take the cat, it leapt out of his arms and hissed angrily. Tamer appeared to have completely forgotten the little cat and was already with the little boy and his two parents. He brushed the two adults aside, "Excuse me, you two. Hey there little guy. What are you crying about? Are you scared of Mothra and Rodan over there?"

The child's crying stopped briefly and he stared at Tamer curiously. Tamer offered his biggest, dumbest grin and continued, "Don't be. They're friends! Aren't they?"

Tamer winked at the boy, then to the two champions. He demonstrated their friendliness by patting Birdramon's leg. Birdramon lowered her head down to meet the boy and Kabuterimon did the same. The boy reached out to touch the giant bird's beak, giggling excitedly when Birdramon blinked. The boy was calmer now and Tamer continued, "There you are. See? Don't be afraid, they're friends to all children! Well, I think that was Gamera but I don't know where the giant turtle is. But the point is, they're not going to harm you. Well, not on purpose. As big as they are, they might hit when they turn around. That's not their fault though. Have you seen how big they are? They can't even get through the door to their house! They just sort of...get stuck. And that's why they live in caves. Because they lose their keys and can't get inside. But that's not their fault. They don't have pockets. I guess Mothra could just hang it up on his horn, but then it'd hit him while he was flying."

The boy was laughing excitedly now, seemingly enjoying Tamer's random attitude. He asked, "What's your name little boy?"

"Cody. Cody Hida," the boy said. Tamer paused anxiously, as if he'd been punched in the stomach, but he carried on happily, "It's nice to meet you Cody. I'm The Digimon Tamer."

"Grandpa says to bow when I meet new people," the boy bowed respectfully and Tamer returned it, "You're a good kid, Cody. But it's not safe here, right now. Mothra over there ate some bad apples and he's about to upchuck. You don't want to see that, do you?"

Cody shook his head and Tamer faced the boy's parents, "You two should go while you can. It's not safe here."

"I'm not going anywhere!" the father stated, "I may be off duty but I'm still an officer of the law. I will-"

"Officer, you're duty is appreciated. But, right now, please focus on protecting your family," Tamer urged the father. The father frowned, "Listen kid, I don't take orders from you! You clear out of here while-"

Tamer grabbed onto Cody's dad and pulled his head down so he could whisper something. The motion was swift and smooth, as if it was something he'd done dozens of times before. They don't know what he whispered, only that the dad changed his attitude afterwards, "I...understand."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Tamer said apologetically, "Go...save your family."

The dad nodded, ushering his wife and son past the bridge. The feat left them all wondering what he'd said, although the little boy happily looked back and waved, "BYE!"

Tamer waved back and rejoined the group, "Sorry about that. So, what were you saying? You said something about knowing where this Kari person was, right?"

"What was that?" Gabumon asked.

"What?"

"You were…surprisingly brotherly to someone you've never met," Sora's mother commented. For the first time they'd known him, Tamer blushed and he offered his explanation, "I've always been good with kids. Don't ask why."

"You're not good with us," Matt grumbled.

"Little kids! Like TK over there," Tamer pointed out, offending the little boy, "I am not little!"

"That's right! Chin up!" Tamer added sarcastically, until Agumon brought them back into focus, "Are we going to find the last child now? This cat won't stop hissing at me."

"Yeah, let's go return this cat to…Kari, was it? Let's go meet this Kari," Tamer scooped up the cat and ran his hand along its body to calm it down, "Kari…Kari…Are you sure it's not pronounced Carey?"

"It's Kari, Tai," Sora's mother said, "She's your sister. Do…do you remember her?"

"And suddenly, Sora's persistence makes sense," Tamer sighed, pushing past Sora's mom with an annoyed look, "She takes a lot after you, y'know. I've never heard anyone so insistent on the whole 'your name is Tai' thing. So, tell you what, tell me all the reasons you think I'm this 'Tai' person on the way to the last digidestined's place. The clock's ticking and Myotismon has already made his move. Might as well multitask while we walk."

Sora and her mother swapped worried glances. Tamer looked back impatiently, waiting for one of them to lead the way - or at least start explaining why they thought his name was Tai. The rest of them hadn't really given it much thought, since Sora could have just made a case of mistaken identity. But having Sora's mom confirm the same thing had them consider it more seriously. Was Tamer really from their world and, if so, had he been stuck in the Digital World for so long that he simply forgot who he was? They were gone for weeks, but that had only been a few minutes in the Real World. If Tai had gone there four years ago, then how had he survived for over a hundred thousand years?

Sora's mom guided them towards the Kamiya family apartment while she told Tamer about Kari, the others followed quietly and listened as she explained everything.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Will the digidestined get to Kari before Gatomon does? What did Tamer say to Cody's police officer father? Is Zudomon really Gamera in disguise? Why are my arms in the air as I ask these questions? Find out (possibly) in the next chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure which comes out Friday, May 20th 5PM CST! If you loved it, leave a review to let me know what you think! I also welcome constructive criticism and guesses on what'll happen next. I usually reply in a day or two. Unless it's a guest review, then I'll reply in the next chapter! And now: random lines from next chapter pulled in no particular order!

She stumbled backwards, blinded by the bright flash, "HEY! What gives!?"

"As in the word for light?" Tamer blinked.

"Right behind you," Wizardmon nodded to the back.

Finally, Jun said, "Davis. Watch Kari. I'll answer the door."

Kari mumbled, "It's him! TAI!"


	26. The Kamiya Family

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** And here we are! Chapter 26! It's the one you have all been waiting for and I hope you guys like it! A big thanks to all of you who favorited the story, followed and left reviews! This story wouldn't have come so far without you! And special thanks again to Ace Spiritwell for doing the cover art for this story! Seriously, go check out their deviantart and their fanfiction. Do it. I say it, therefore you must! I would like to take a moment to honor Yuuko Mizutani, the actress who played the original Sora Takenouchi in Digimon Adventure. She passed away May 17th from breast cancer. Let's all take a moment to honor this accomplished voice actress.

…

Okay, now for a quick reply to a guest review.

 **Guest:** Data Squad won't come into play until year…four or five I think. Depending on pacing. Maybe six.

Anyway, no more wasting time! Let's start the next chapter!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 26: The Kamiya Family**

The digidestined followed Sora's mother through the streets of Odaiba, keeping alert for any enemies that might wander through the thick fog to attack them. The streets were filled with confusion and as every electronic device had given out. Traffic lights were broken, cell phones couldn't make calls, and cars stalled leading to a few accidents. Power stopped working inside buildings, and a few people screamed at vending machines for their snacks. It was amazing to see how much of life seemed to come to a standstill now that the electronics stopped working. Amidst all the confusion, it wasn't hard to see how no one knew that the bridge had been attacked just a few blocks away or that a plane landed into the water.

To keep the confusion from turning to panic, the kids took to carrying their digimon partners like dolls again, something that earned them some unwanted attention from the adults and other kids they passed. While they walked, Sora's mom explained her reasoning for thinking why Tamer was Sora's friend Tai - the uncanny resemblance, the head strong attitude, and the fact that he looked to be the right age. Tamer refused to believe any of this, insisting that he was much older than he looked but indulged Sora's mother when she added, "Well, why not ask your family? They would know their son better than anyone, wouldn't they?"

"They're not my family and they'll know it when they meet me," Tamer replied, "To be honest, if what you're telling me is right - then meeting me might be the worst thing we could do. It would only remind them that their son is dead. Such a terrific idea!"

"I think wearing a hat might help out," Mimi chimed in, taking off her pink cowboy hat and placing it upon his head. Unfortunately, his hair was so wild that it wouldn't all fit inside - so she matted it down to make the hat fit. She regretted her choice when she realized the color of her hat clashed with the color of his clothes. He regretted the choice when the matted hair kept him from seeing the lamp post until he walked straight into it, "OW!"

"Okay, that was pretty funny," Gabumon chuckled. Tamer threw Mimi's hat back at her, "Never mind! Let's just scare the pants off of them."

"But what about reminding them that their son is dead?" Matt asked, "Or are you seriously convinced that you are Sora's friend?"

"That was before I walked into a lamp post," Tamer grunted, "Can we hurry this up? I want to stop Myotismon before he harms anyone else."

They continued on to the multistory apartment complex located on the far side of the island. The home of the Kamiya family, at least - according to the tag on the cat and Sora's mom. Sora and Matt thought it best to have Tamer and Agumon in the back, to avoid freaking out the Kamiya family when they answered the door. Matt rapped his knuckles on the door and a girl's voice from inside said, "Coming!"

* * *

Jun and her little brother Davis carried Kari all the way back to her home on the fourth floor of a multistory apartment complex. They let themselves inside with a key that Kari had on her and rested her on the couch. It was a simple apartment, with two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a small living room. Some pictures hung on the wall - mostly of the girl and her mother. There were some pictures with another person who looked to be the father, but those had the face torn off. The living room had a television on one side of the room, and opposite it was a butsudan - a wooden cabinet converted into a Buddhist shrine decorated with flowers, candles, and a bowl for offering fruit.

In the center of the shrine was a small Buddha statue with a lit piece of incense. Beside it was a death register and a picture of a smiling little boy wearing PJs. Davis examined the shrine carefully and gasped when he saw the picture, "Hey! It's me!"

"That's not you, Davis! Be polite," Jun told off her little brother. She pulled him away, sank to her knees and put her hands together in prayer. She looked at her brother standing there confused and said, "You too! We're guests!"

"Okay! Okay, geez!" Davis grumbled. He copied his sister and offered his respects to the shrine meant to honor the deceased family member. He thought it was weird that they had a photo of him, but tried not to think about it too much. It was just incredibly creepy that they had a photo of him. Why would they have a photo of someone who wasn't in their family?

"Thanks," the girl mumbled from the couch. The two siblings got up from praying and asked, "Where's your mom? Shouldn't she be here?"

"She's at work," Kari managed to say, rolling on to her side to better look at the two siblings. Her eyes locked onto Davis and she added, "You look like him."

"Who, me? Who do I look like?" Davis asked. Kari's gaze moved to the family shrine and the two siblings knew she was referring to the photo. Jun asked, "So who is that?"

"My brother," Kari answered, falling quiet. Jun apologetically offered, "I'm sorry."

"It won't bring him back," Kari answered meekly, turning to look the other way. Jun cocked her head to the side – taken aback by how utterly defeated that tone was. The fact that she had turned to look away wasn't a good sign, so Jun tried changing the topic, "How long were you sick?"

Kari answered, "I was sick since yesterday but I felt better this morning, so I went to look for Miko."

"Miko, is that your cat?" Jun added. Kari nodded sheepishly, "Yeah. I was worried something happened to my kitty."

Jun put a hand to the girl's head and felt her how warm she really was, "I'm sure she's okay. For now, let me call an ambulance for you. You should see a doctor."

"No!" Kari shot up. The sudden motion made the blood flow out her head, making her light headed and she fell back onto the couch, "No. I don't want to scare mom."

"Kari, if you don't see a doctor, you'll get worse," Jun said. She found the phone in the entry way into the apartment and tried calling for an ambulance, only to be met with a dead line. She tried again with no luck and asked, "Hey, is your phone broken?"

"No," Kari said before coughing. Davis had gone out to the window and commented, "Wow! This fog rolls in quick! You can't even see the bridge anymore!"

"Don't be ridiculous Davis," Jun rolled her eyes, "There's no way that…wow."

She looked out the window and could see only thick white fog outside blanketing everything. As if someone had covered the world in a veil. She joined Davis by the window just to be sure she hadn't imagined it. She hadn't - the fog really was just that thick. What surprised them most was knowing that it had been bright and sunny just minutes ago. Of course, this was the least of their surprises at the moment because neither sibling could have anticipated what happened next.

"Well Gatomon, now's your chance to prove me wrong. You have not one but three defenseless children. So, why not show me how bad you really are?" a voice said behind them. Jun and Davis spun around to see a man dressed as a wizard standing behind the couch, and the white cat with gloves standing over Kari with her claw outstretched. The same cat that led them to her. And the necklace the cat wore was glowing a soft pink light that invited them forward, despite the cat's furious scowl.

"HEY!" Davis threw his action figure at the cat, only to watch the cat knock it aside. The cat grinned, "It'll take more than that, little boy. Now stay there if you know what's good for you."

Davis was too excited by what he'd just witnessed to notice he was in any danger, "Did that cat just talk! No way! THAT IS SO COOL!"

The cat blinked and gave a perplexed response, "This kid isn't the brightest bulb in the bunch is he?"

"You could always finish him first," the wizard pointed out, "That would silence him forever, and prove your loyalty to Lord Myotismon. This shouldn't be any trouble for you."

"I know," the cat said, bearing her claws to strike at the barely moving Kari. Kari wasn't scared of the cat; she didn't even seem bothered by the fact she might die soon. She was either too sick to realize her situation, or she simply didn't care. In either case, the cat hesitated to actually strike the girl. Jun and Davis tried to inch closer, but the wizard pointed a staff at them warningly, "Stay where you are, or I will blow you apart."

"I don't need your help Wizardmon! I can take care of them myself," the cat leered at the girl, who continued to stare up expectantly. Not as if to dare her, but to ask her to hurry up and just end it already. The sad, almost defeated look in her eyes gave Gatomon pause, and her paw started shaking even though she was ready to kill this sick little girl.

"Are you so sure, Gatomon?" Wizardmon asked. The white feline backed away and rose to sit on all fours, "I can't."

"Pity…not really becoming of a servant of Lord Myotismon, now is it?" Wizardmon chuckled under his breath - to Gatomon's annoyance, "Why can't I?"

"Because you are not a bad digimon, Gatomon," Wizardmon said, "You never have been. You serve Myotismon - but out of fear, not loyalty. His training has conditioned you to follow his orders unquestioningly. Unless specifically ordered to do so, you always chose the kinder path."

The cat rounded on her wizard friend, "What do you know!? You don't know what it's like to be me so don't you dare stand there and talk like you understand."

"I understand perfectly, Gatomon," Wizardmon stated, "And that is why I'm trying to make you see that you don't belong with Myotismon. You belong with her."

Wizardmon pointed at Kari - prompting Davis and Jun to finally run forward to the sickly little girl. The two of them clumsily carried her off the couch and to the window, "No! You don't!"

"Calm down. I was never going to let anything bad happen to you," Wizardmon said, trying to explain to the two siblings as they carried Kari into a corner of the room. If they had to, they would make a dash for the balcony - it was going to be a long drop down but that was better than taking their chances with these two. The white cat continued staring at Kari blankly, and the little girl stared back quietly. After a tense silence, Gatomon asked, "So are you saying she's the eighth digidestined?"

"Well, the tag and crest copies that Myotismon gave you has been glowing for a while. So I'd say that's a good sign," the wizard pointed out the glowing pink tag. The cat glanced down, surprised to see that the tag was indeed glowing, "Wizardmon...does this mean that I'm-"

"Yes, you are the partner of the eighth digidestined," the wizard finished, "And she is the eighth digidestined."

"How do you know all this?" the cat asked.

"I know what the Tamer and Agumon know. I have seen what they have seen," the wizard explained, "I know every move in the game - what can and cannot, what must and must not, what will and will not."

"Great, now you're starting to sound like those two," the cat sighed. Jun and Davis swapped glances, then Jun asked, "Are you two going to tell us what's going on?"

"Yeah! What do you want us for!?" Davis added.

"I think they want me," Kari finally spoke up. The two siblings looked at Kari, who gazed up at them with innocent eyes. Jun frowned, "Yeah, we got that much Kari. They were going to kill us!"

"I don't think they were," Kari retorted, pointing at the cat, "Gatomon didn't look like she wanted to. Isn't that right, Mr. Wizardmon?"

"As I said, I was never going to let any harm come to any of you," the wizard stated, "Gatomon understands now. She is not a bad digimon, although she claims to be."

"Digimon? What is that? Some kind of food? Can someone please tell us what's going on!" Jun snapped.

"That's a simple question with a complicated answer," Wizardmon replied, staring at her quietly, "But...if I hedged my bets right, then everything will fall into place just about…now."

On cue, they heard a knock at the door. The wizard pointed towards it, "Please, open the door. You'll find your answers on the other side."

Jun and Davis looked at each other. Finally, Jun said, "Davis. Watch Kari. I'll get the door."

"No way! How do I know you won't run for it!" Davis pointed out.

"Really Davis? Now?" Jun said back, "I'm not going to run."

"Yeah, like you weren't going to take the last popsicle from the freezer!"

"Davis!"

"I'll answer it!" Kari offered to the two arguing siblings. Jun held her tight and refused to let her, "No! No! I'll go. Davis, protect Kari. Okay?"

"Promise you won't leave us!" Davis demanded, still looking at his sister grumpily. Jun glanced down at Kari and noticed the envious look in her eyes. She nodded to Davis and moved past the intruders for the door. Davis held tight to Kari and moved in front of her in case either of the two did anything. He looked back at her once and saw admiration in her eye - and he was determined to live up to her expectations. He wouldn't let anything happen to her.

"I like your…necklace. It's really pretty," Kari said cutely, looking at the cat. The cat shied away, "Thanks."

"So what did...Mr. Wizardmon mean when...he said you're...my partner? And what's...a digidestined?" Kari asked quietly.

"Kari! Don't talk to them! They're bad guys!" Davis reminded the little girl, only for Gatomon to snap, "Shut it kid!"

"What it means is that you are a child chosen to be a protector of both the Digital and Real Worlds," the wizard explained, "And my good friend Gatomon here was meant to be your partner. Together, the two of you would act as guardians to safe guard our worlds from destruction."

"I guess...it's nice to...meet you partner...Let's be good friends," Kari said to the cat, making her flinch backwards nervously.

"Kari! Don't make friends with these creeps!" Davis said to her, anxiously looking at the doorway for his sister to come back, "Man, what's taking her? Jun! Is Everything alright?"

"Yeah!" he heard his sister call back. The cat hopped off the couch and walked towards the little girl slowly. Davis jumped in front of Kari, "No you don't. Go away!"

"I think...she just wants...to say hi," Kari told Davis. Thunderous footsteps from the doorway came towards them as a flood of people rushed into the room. One was a person Kari never thought she'd see again, and she gasped in shock.

* * *

The door into the Kamiya residence opened wide to reveal a girl with spiky red hair about the age of the other digidestined. She looked at them and greeted them cautiously, "Um…hi."

Tamer pushed his way in front of the others, pointed his digivice at her and flashed a bright light in her eyes. She stumbled backwards, blinded by the bright flash, "HEY! What gives!?"

"TAMER!" Sora's mom reprimanded him with a slap across the back of the head, which he didn't react to. Matt punched Tamer in the arm, "What are you doing!?"

"Scanning her," Tamer replied, unaffected by Matt's strike. He read the information whizzing past on his digivice's screen, "Nope. She's not the one we're looking for."

"Sorry about him. He's kind of a jerk," Sora pushed Tamer to the back while Matt helped the blinded girl, "I'm Matt. This is Sora. That idiot is Tai...well, he calls himself The Tamer."

"Stop calling me Tai," Tamer grumbled.

"These are Izzy, Joe, Mimi, TK, my mom, and Biyomon, Tentomon, Palmon, Patamon, Gabumon, Gomamon, and Agumon. Who are you?"

"Jun," the girl replied, rubbing her eyes, "Is that how he says hi?"

"Usually something blows up," Agumon replied just as the girl's vision returned in time for her to focus on the little orange dinosaur. She rubbed her eyes a few times and blinked, "Oh. A talking dinosaur now. This day can't possibly get any weirder."

"You're not as freaked out as most people in this world have been," Tamer commented, "Actually. No, you looked worried and alarmed."

"That's because you shined a light in her eyes," Joe reminded him. Tamer remained adamant, "No, when she opened the door."

"Jun! Is everything alright?" they heard a young voice say inside. Jun examined the group assembled in front of her and called back, "Yeah."

"We're sorry for bothering you. You're not Kari Kamiya are you?" Sora's mom asked. Jun looked at them all, "What do you guys want with Kari?"

"We need her help. It's a long story and we don't have a lot of time. Is she here or not? Also, why are you still so panicked?" Tamer asked, "Wait. You said this day couldn't get any weirder. What did you mean?"

Jun looked at them again and whispered, "There's a guy dressed like a wizard and talking cat inside."

Before she even finished her sentence, Tamer dropped the cat he was holding and pushed his way past the girl with Agumon. Matt caught the bewildered girl before she hit the ground while everyone else followed inside. Jun took one look at Matt and quietly muttered, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Matt replied, realizing the girl was blushing. He quickly averted his gaze to avoid having to make eye contact. The cat Tamer held followed inside, purring gently while it went in.

"Matt, what just happened?" Sora's mom asked, "What's the big deal about a wizard and a cat?"

"It sounds like trouble," Matt answered, explaining their encounter with Wizardmon and Gatomon.

Inside, Tamer and Agumon had already rounded on Gatomon and Wizardmon. Gatomon was reaching out to two small children huddled on the far side of the room, while Wizardmon looked on with mild fascination. The sight of the two scared kids had Tamer charging for the cat right away, "GET AWAY FROM THEM!"

Tamer leapt over the couch to tackle the cat and Agumon circled around to cut off her escape. Unfortunately, Gatomon moved too fast for either of them, and leapt out of Tamer's attack before he was even on her. She slid between the two kids and Agumon, bearing her claws at the two of them, "No! You get away from here!"

"Alright! The good guys are here!" the little boy cheered, pumping his fist in the air. The girl, on the other hand, remained silent and awestruck. Tamer added, "That's right, we're the good guys, and we're going to put this kitty in her place!"

Sora dashed in just to see the necklace on Gatomon's neck, a tag with a pink crest resembling a sun whose rays resembled petals. Another copy of the tag and crest similar to what Wizardmon gave her. She reached for the one in her pocket and saw it also glowed the same soft pink light.

"Tai, er…Tamer!" Sora said, "The crest! It's glowing!"

"I noticed!" Tamer spat back, glancing once at Sora, "She's wearing it! I'm looking right…at two of them. Why do you have one? Why are there two?"

"I gave that to her," Wizardmon finally spoke, stepping between Gatomon and Agumon. He dropped his staff to the floor and it rattled with a clang. Tamer remained at alert and kept his digivice handy in case, signaling Agumon to stay ready. Wizardmon continued, "It's a copy of the crest and tag. Myotismon made them to facilitate the search for the last child. I think it's time I revealed my hand Tamer. I am still on Gatomon's side, not yours. All the same, my goal has always been to get her to this point. To bring her to her partner."

"Wait. Gatomon's the eighth partner? Really? I was so sure that it was…oh, it doesn't matter," Tamer relaxed, lowering his digivice, "That happened a lot faster than I expected. So, who's the last child?"

"Right behind you," Wizardmon nodded to the back. Tamer spun around to face the boy and girl. Both were about TK's age, but the boy was determined and enthusiastic while the girl was anxious and dumbstruck. It was obvious to him who it was and he extended a hand to the boy, "Nice to meet you kid! So you're the Carey I've heard so much about!"

"Huh? No, I'm Davis," the little boy said, "I like your goggles! They're cool!"

"They really are! You should get a pair!" Tamer replied, "They're stylish and functional! Also, they make you look awesome! Isn't that right?"

"Yeah! That's right!" Davis agreed excitedly. Tamer extended his hand, "I like you already Carey! The eighth digidestined!"

"Huh? But I'm not Carey! I mean Kari! I'm Davis! And he said Kari was the digidestined. Not me," Davis pointed to the little girl beside him, staring up in wide eyed shock at the goggle headed boy in front of her. Tamer cocked his head to the side in disbelief and pointed to the girl, "Her? Are you sure? They said a girl named Carey-"

"Kari," Biyomon coughed, only for Tamer to continue, "Kari. And you look like a girl."

"Well I'm not," Davis snorted.

"Are you sure? I can check to be sure. It'll only take a second," Tamer added, sending Davis scurrying behind Kari worriedly, "Don't you dare."

Tamer blinked and waved anxiously, "Well…I guess you're the eighth digidestined then."

"So that's his sister? She looks like she's TK's age," Joe pointed out.

"Kari!" Sora joined the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder to shake her out of her stupor. She blinked and locked eyes with Sora, full of shock and surprise, "Sora?"

"Hey. Long time no see, huh?" Sora greeted the little girl. Kari's eyes glazed over and her lips trembled, "Is that really him?"

"That's…hard to answer," Sora tried to think of how to explain the truth to her, "He's…different from how you remember. I'm not even sure he's the same person."

"But it's still him," Kari mumbled, "It's him! TAI!"

Kari leapt away from Sora and threw her arms around Tamer's waist, stunning everyone in the room. Tamer returned the hug and remarked, "Okay, a hug! I'm always up for a hug! Now, see. Why didn't you guys say hi like this in the Digital World?"

The little girl buried her face into him and start making sobbing noises. Her voice was muffled in his shirt, but they could still make out her words, "You're alive! Big brother! I knew it! You're alive!"

"Well of course I'm alive. I mean, last time I checked," Tamer said, putting two fingers to his neck, "Yeah, still alive."

"I'm just…I'm…happy…to see you…Tai," Kari said, tightening her grip into his shirt and wrinkling the cloth, all the while sobbing tears of joy. At the sound of the name he hated to hear so much, Tamer pushed her back. Despite her misty eyes and distraught look, Tamer still lectured her, "Okay. This has seriously got to stop. My name is the Digimon Tamer. So will everyone please stop calling me Tai? You all sound like you're sneezing when you say that name."

Sora caught the girl before she fell backwards and leered at Tamer in disgust. Kari's expression was stunned, but this didn't stop Tamer from continuing, "So Carey. What's that short for? Carissa maybe? No. That's a plant."

"It's Kari, Tamer!" Sora snapped, placing a hand on the little girl's shoulder to reassure her while she continued to stare up in disbelief, "Short for Hikari."

"As in the word for light?" Tamer blinked, stepping back. He rubbed his chin and scratched his head, "That's…more than a weird coincidence. Wait, why do I know that?"

"So do you speak their language or don't you?" Agumon chimed in, "Because it would've been nice if we didn't spend all night running away from that guy or gal who kept changing his or her face."

"I don't know," Tamer grunted, striding to the opposite side of the room while rapping his knuckles against his head.

"Tai, you…remember me…right?" Kari asked the boy through wheezes. Her tears continued to steam, but not from joy. Tamer continued pacing around the apartment but was able to chastise the girl, "Stop that. My name isn't Tai. Also, I have a headache and I don't know why."

"Is something different?" Agumon asked. Tamer shook his head, "I don't think so. This one is different. It feels like there's something wrong, but I don't see anything diverging too far from what's supposed to happen."

"Is this like what happened in Myotismon Castle and with Etemon?" Gabumon asked, "You started getting headaches and nearly passed out."

"No, no," Tamer dismissed the idea quickly, "That was from being in close proximity to a minor change. Since there's nothing in sight that's different, there would have to be something pretty big happening. Myotismon is crazy. But he's not _that_ crazy?"

"That's because you don't know Myotismon's plan," Wizardmon folded his arms and went to Tamer, "So there are no surprises: he knows what's supposed to happen and will do whatever it takes to avoid that outcome. For him, this is a game where his life is on the line."

"What else can he do?" Joe asked, "Two of his goons blew up a bridge and he created this fog. What else is there?"

"That's just the opening move," Wizardmon explained, "He's attempting to cut off the city from the rest of the world - blocking roads, destroying bridges, sinking ships, crashing planes. He wants the city isolated for his next move."

"And what's his next move?" Tamer rounded on Wizardmon anxiously.

* * *

In another part of the city, several kids ran around a park playing a game of tag. The thick fog added excitement to their game because it made it hard to tell where anyone was or who was approaching through the mist. While they ran around playing their game, they noticed a tall man in a trench coat come through the fog. He concealed his face beneath a large, wide brim fedora that he lowered to conceal his face and thick black gloves. The kids stopped their game briefly to marvel at the large man before them - they had never seen someone so big that he stood over their parents and some of the playground equipment. One of the younger kids asked, "Hey mister! Are you a giant?"

The tall man reached into his coat and produced a pink crystal with a star engraved into the center. He examined it carefully then growled, "The child isn't here."

"Not here? Are you looking for someone? Can we help?" the young child asked. The man shifted his gaze to the child, raising his hat slightly to show two piercing red eyes from beneath a metal mask. Under his intense gaze, the child found himself drawn to run but he was too scared to move his legs.

"Yes, you can," the man growled, reaching back into his coat pocket, "My name is SkullMeramon. I am looking for the children destined to defeat my master. This crest will lead me to one, but it is still my duty to find the other four."

The children remained silent, frozen in fear and unable to talk. The man pulled a chain out of his coat and swung it over his head. With one motion, he threw the chain forward and it wrapped itself around one of the kids. The rest found their voices and screamed, "And my role is to finish them. CHAIN OF PAIN!"

With a swift pull, the chain tightened around the child and he swung the child on the end of the chain like a flail. Using the child's body as a weight, SkullMeramon swung the child into the other children, laughing maniacally as their tiny bodies crumpled under the force of the swing. He didn't kill them, but the force was enough for them to fall to the ground in agony - unable to move. He released the child on the end of his chain and watched the miserable thing crumple to the dirt, body broken, bloodied and with limbs twisted in ways words couldn't describe. From the blank expression, he could tell the child was dead - but it was a curiosity that none of them dispersed into data. All the same, he had a job to finish. He raised out both his palms and cried out, "METAL FIREBALL!"

Blasts of blue flame shot out of his mouth and palms to burn the bodies on the ground. The ones who still clung to life started screaming in agony, but the screams quickly died out and were replaced by the crackling of fire.

* * *

Everyone looked out the window when they heard the rumble of thunder. Only Wizardmon remained undisturbed, "Stage three has begun."

"What's stage three?" Biyomon asked.

"Stage one: scout the city for areas with high concentrations of children. Stage two: isolate the city from the rest of the world. Stage three: kill everyone – starting with the areas with high concentrations of children," Wizardmon stated to the room, "Myotismon felt that this approach was more practical, provided the number of children there were in the city. Why waste the effort looking for and killing one when killing them all would be faster."

The room was quiet while each of them registered what to do. Everyone had their own thoughts on what was happening. Fear, worry, anger, disgust, and shock. The only noise came from the cat strolling into the apartment and mewing for food. When it couldn't get its helping, it started brushing against legs in a show of affection. All of that stopped, when Mimi shrieked, "NO! HE CAN'T DO THAT!"

The noise snapped them out of their surprise and the cat ran away fearfully. Matt rounded on Tamer, "Is that what Myotismon meant? When he said that we could have stopped him?"

"Probably," Tamer stared back at them, "I said that some things are inconsequential didn't I? As long as we stop him, it should all work out."

"People are going to die!" Palmon added.

"People have already died," Tentomon said with a sullen look, "We couldn't save everyone on the bridge."

"Collateral damage," Tamer crossed his arms. Sora's mom added, unable to believe how he so casually disregarded the lives of others, "Tai! What is wrong with you?"

"There is plenty wrong with him. But discussing it would take time we do not have. Myotismon's army is still going to kill everyone they find and, hopefully, the eighth digidestined will be among them," Wizardmon thumbed at Kari. Kari pointed to herself, "Me? Why me?"

"Because, Kari, you and Gatomon are destined to defeat him," Wizardmon explained, "Together with everyone, you will defeat him. He knows this and he seeks to defeat you - either by killing you or robbing you of your power."

"Her power? You must mean the crest!" Izzy thought aloud, "So, when her partner…Gatomon achieves the Ultimate level, they will defeat Myotismon?"

Wizardmon nodded, "Yes. But they will need the crest first."

"But you have two," Palmon said, running up to Gatomon to point out the crest hanging off her chest. Tamer retrieved both crests from Sora and Gatomon. He examined them carefully, then crushed them both in his hands, "They're copies. Flimsy ones. The real crests would never break."

"Myotismon has the original," Wizardmon explained, "We will have to retrieve it from him."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go get it and kick his butt!" TK said energetically. Wizardmon folded his arms, "No. Don't. As you are, you will all be defeated if you try to fight him. Gatomon and I will go - he won't suspect any shift in our loyalties. We can enter, retrieve the original, and leave."

"It'll be dangerous," Agumon said, "Are you sure?"

"Agumon, I have been playing this dangerous game for a long time. Not as long as you two, but long enough to know what I'm doing," Wizardmon offered, "You and Tamer do what you must do, and I'll do what I must."

"Most digimon who learn the truth usually end up like Myotismon," Tamer added factually. Wizardmon shrugged, "Gatomon and I are not most digimon. If we're not back by tonight, assume that we've been captured."

"Alright, but what are the rest of us supposed to do?" Matt frowned.

"What do you think Matt!? Myotismon's bad guys are out there and we have to stop them!" Palmon said with fierce determination, glancing at Mimi, "We're heroes after all, right!"

"That's right!" Mimi said with raised fists, "We have what it takes to stop them!"

"That's a bad plan," Tamer said with a frown, stepping between Mimi and Palmon while he continued pacing, "It'd make more sense for us to stay here and wait for Wizardmon and Gatomon to return with the crest."

"Are you saying we should just sit here and let Myotismon's army just kill everyone?" Gomamon asked with just the tiniest hint of accusation. Tamer nodded as if nothing wrong, "That is exactly what I'm saying."

"No way! I'm not going to sit here and wait while all those people get killed!" Mimi said to the boy, "This is your fault! If you'd let us stop Myotismon back at the castle, none of this would've happened!"

Tamer interrupted her angrily, "Oh, so this is my fault?"

"YES!" Mimi, Gomamon, and Matt said together. Tamer threw up his hands, "Fine, y'know what? Go! Good luck. Agumon and I are staying here to protect Carey."

"Tai, it's… it's Kari," the little girl said meekly.

"He knows what it is, Kari. He acts like this when he's mad, bored, or stressed," Sora whispered to the little girl, who whispered back, "But…that is Tai. Right?"

Sora opened and closed her mouth a few times but didn't know how to answer the question. She looked into her chocolate eyes and saw the answer she desperately wanted to hear. She wanted to be told that the brother she thought long dead was standing in front of her, alive and well. But Sora couldn't lie to the little girl – Tamer may have been Tai at one point, but he was not Tai anymore. If he ever was.

"Do whatever you want, Tamer. But we're not going to stand by and let anyone else get hurt because of 'what has to happen'," Gomamon frowned, "Right, Joe?"

"I don't know what to think," Joe frowned, "We can go out there to help, but that seems like a band aid solution to the problem. It might make more sense to stay here and protect Kari. Wizardmon and Tamer both agree - she and Gatomon defeat Myotismon."

"I agree with Mimi," Izzy spoke up, earning a snide remark from Tamer, "Yeah, because you like her and want to get on her good side."

"Stop bringing that up! Besides, I think going out there to fight might be the best distraction we could create," Izzy said, "Think about it. We go somewhere else and pretend to be protecting something else, and they might think Kari is with us there. That'll draw them away from here and buy time for Wizardmon."

"That plan…actually makes a lot of sense," Agumon nodded his agreement, "Tamer?"

The boy stopped pacing around the room and sighed, "Fine, fine. Go! But take TK with you. He's probably the best fighter in this group."

"NO!" Matt snapped, "You are not sending my little brother out there."

"Matt, it's fine. I don't mind," TK said to the older boy, "I'll have Patamon with me."

"Yeah! Don't worry! I'll protect him," Patamon cheered from the boy's arms.

"That's not the point! You could get hurt, and then what would-" Matt started, but caught himself when he remembered his experiences from the cave. The older TK telling him to back off and that he could take care of himself. The hurt in his voice that Matt just couldn't trust him. Then he remembered his talk with Tamer at the pyramid and in Myotismon's castle. It clicked in his mind what Tamer meant and he took a deep breath to calm himself down, "Okay. Go. But I'm going to go with you, just in case."

"You mean it?" TK said anxiously, with just the tiniest hint of excitement. Matt nodded, "Yeah."

"Okay, let's go!" Palmon cheered, pumping a fist into the air. Palmon, Mimi, TK, Patamon, Gabumon, Matt, Izzy and Tentomon departed for the door. Gomamon went to follow, but noticed Joe was staying in the apartment, "Aren't you coming Joe?"

"I think we should stay," Joe folded his arms, "It only makes sense. We need someone to protect Kari."

"But what about making a distraction?" Gomamon asked.

"Look, I really doubt Myotismon is actually going to where the four of them are alone," Joe said, "Plus, with Sora and Biyomon here - we can offer better protection."

"Hey, what about us?" Agumon asked.

"You can't go Ultimate," Joe countered, "Gomamon and Biyomon can. If anything, it'd make more sense for you to go. Myotismon will think you're trying to defend something."

"No, he'd realize something is wrong if we're not all out there," Tamer argued, "Agumon and I are staying."

The two boys stared at each other, until Izzy explained, "Why don't you guys stay. We can handle this."

"I guess it's settled then," Sora said, "Good luck guys!"

"And please," Sora's mom added, "Be careful."

"Don't worry! We'll beat those bad guys and send them running to their mommies!" TK cheered excitedly. Palmon added, "And we'll come back safe and sound."

They made for the door but stopped at the sound of rushed footsteps. A frantic woman's voice echoed from outside, "KARI! KARI! NO! THE DOOR! PLEASE BE THERE! PLEASE BE THERE!"

A young woman dressed as a store clerk appeared at the open door, her chocolate hair in a mess and looking like she'd run a marathon. She looked into the apartment but failed to notice everyone inside. She ran past them all while screaming, "KARI!"

Kari took one look at the woman and said, "Mom."

"KARI! YOU'RE ALRIGHT!" the woman slid to her knees to hug her little girl, "Thank goodness you're alright! There are monsters! Actual monsters out there and they're destroying everything! We have to go, right now!"

"But, Wizardmon and Gatomon said to wait here," Kari said sheepishly.

"Yeah!" Davis added, "And the cool guy with the goggles said he'd protect us."

"Who? What? Who are you?" Kari's mom asked, suddenly realizing that there were other people in the room. She remained fixated on Kari, "How'd you get into my apartment?"

"We found Kari outside and took her back here," Jun spoke up, "She was passed out on the walkway."

"Walkway? Kari! What were you doing outside?" her mother asked, still harried, "You shouldn't have gone outside when you were sick! Are you okay? You took your medicine, right?"

"That is a long explanation and we do not have the time for this. Izzy, was it? Or…Matt…which one of you is in charge?" Wizardmon looked to the group. Before anyone could respond, Kari's mom noticed the digimon and went into a blind panic. She threw herself in front of her daughter, "AH! THE MONSTERS ARE INSIDE! KARI! STAY BEHIND ME!"

"Mom, they're friends…they want to help," Kari tried to explain to her mother, only to be told, "Kari! I just watched a customer get their face eaten! I am not believing that they can be friendly!"

Tamer finally spoke up in what could only be called the worst possible time, "That would explain the headache I'm having. But the screaming woman isn't helping. Carey, your mom is very loud."

The Kamiya mom stared at Tamer, eyes widening and face frozen in complete shock. Perhaps it was because of her panic that she failed to notice him when she first entered. But now she did notice him and the expression on her face said it all. While she mentally tried to process all of this, Sora's mom quietly murmured to the rest of them, "Now would be a good time for you all to leave. This might need some privacy."

"What for?" Tamer asked. Sora's mom patted the boy on the head, "Not you. You're staying."

"Come on guys. Time to go," Joe ushered the rest of the group out. Gomamon blinked, "Wait! We're leaving?"

"No, we're just going to wait outside," Joe told his partner calmly, "I've helped out at my dad's clinic enough to know when something should be private. Let us know when it's safe to come back inside."

Davis and Jun looked at each other nervously. Finally, Jun asked, "What about us? You're going to make us go outside with all those monsters!?"

"Oh, right. Um…" Joe pondered what to do. Eventually Matt said, "Let's just find their parents."

"Is that a good idea? I mean that doesn't do anything about the army of digimon roaming around," Palmon pointed out. Before anyone could discuss it, Kari's mom started screaming. The shriek was so loud and deafening that it drowned out all other noise, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Okay, time to go," Wizardmon declared. He grabbed Gatomon and disappeared with a snap of his fingers. Joe grabbed Davis while Jun latched on to Matt as they headed outside. The room was empty of everyone except Biyomon, Agumon, Sora, Sora's mom, Kari, her mother, and Tamer. The whole time, Kari's mother did nothing but scream - as if her lungs could never empty. Tamer even commented, "I don't think she's stopped to breathe."

"Yuuko! Yuuko! Breathe!" Sora's mom said to her. Kari's mother stopped screaming long enough to look at Sora's mom, "Toshiko? Oh, not you too!"

Kari's mom started sobbing uncontrollably again and Tamer mumbled, "I think she's broken."

Sora watched the scene unfold and realized this was what she was afraid would happen. Seeing her dead son must have been enough of a shock, but she hadn't considered the fact that Myotismon would begin his rampage. Kari's mom sobbed, "The monster ate the customer. And all those people. And I thought I escaped! I thought I made it but I'm dead aren't I? Aren't I!? AND KARI TOO! WE'RE DEAD!"

"Yuuko! Calm down!" Sora's mom said, "No one's dead."

"Of course we're dead! TAI'S RIGHT THERE AND HE'S BEEN DEAD FOR FOUR YEARS!" Kari's mom wailed. Sora's mom kept trying to calm her down while Tamer grumbled, "Great. First Sky, then Sky's mom, then Carey, and now Carey's mom. I swear, if one more person looks at me and calls me Tai, I'm going to have Agumon kick someone."

"Not now Tai!" Sora said to the boy, "Can't you see your mom is freaking out?"

"AGUMON!" Tamer growled, "Kick someone!"

It took Agumon all of one second to carry out the command. And send Tamer flying from the living room to the kitchen with one swift kick. The entire apartment went quiet as Tamer landed with a crash, "AH! WHY?"

"You said kick someone. You didn't say who," Agumon said rather proudly. Tamer groaned from the kitchen and they could hear him drumming his fingers on the floor, "What I hate the most is that you make a good point."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Four of the digidestined have gone out to fight. The other three stayed behind to protect Kari. Will Wizardmon and Gatomon find the crest in time. Find out next week on Friday, May 27th at 5 PM CST during the next installment of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure. So remember that con I mentioned a few chapters back? I'm at that con right now. I'm uploading this chapter on their wifi. It's not a lot of fun. I only have one bar. Anyway, if you loved it, let me know in the review section. I usually reply in a day or two. I also welcome constructive criticism and speculation on the next chapter. And now, random lines from the next chapter:

Time slowed down as Mimi watched the wreck of a car go flying towards them.

"Izzy! Do something!" Mimi shouted.

The controller spoke again, "Flight 246-A, adjust course by 45 degrees to avoid collision. How copy?"

"Togemon! Digivolve to! Lillymon!"

The eldest brother cried the loudest, "Kenny! Don't die! PLEASE! KEN!"


	27. I Am The Tamer

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** And so we begin the 27th chapter of The Tamer. A huge thanks to everyone who read the last chapter, favorited and followed, as well as left a review. Another big thanks to Ace Spiritwell for creating the cover art for The Tamer. If you haven't yet, take a peek at their deviant art and fanfiction. I want to add that I love hearing you guys' feedback and speculation on what you think this is leading to. On that subject, let's do some reviews to guest responses:

 **Guest 1:** Creo que su nombre esta LaylaMT. Perdon, mi espanol es terrible y mi computador no puede hacer que las tildes por las palabras. Creo esa es la palabra correcto, pero no estoy cierto. Gracias por el review para mi fanfiction. Estoy feliz que le gusta lo. Tenemos actualizaciones en el Viernes.

 **Guest 2:** To quote an archaeologist who wore a space suit, murdered a time travelling physician in a blue box in front of herself while her mother was pregnant with her, married him, then told him to dye his gray hairs after he changed his face, "Spoilers." Admit it. You read it in the voice.

That's all for now. On with the next chapter!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 27: I Am The Tamer**

The day at the Haneda Airport started off busy as usual, but became worse when a thick fog that wasn't in the day's weather forecast rolled in. It didn't help that all the instruments indicated it was supposed to be a clear, sunny day and that there were no clouds in the sky. The fog affected their radar and threw phantom dots on their screens – which made tracking the planes harder than it should have been. Thankfully the radio still worked and the air traffic controller was able to redirect the planes as he needed. And now, he could see the dot marked as the flight from New York City on course for its arrival. Or a collision with another flight if the radar was right. Then again, it could've been just a bird or another phantom dot. Better safe than sorry, right?

The controller took the radio and tuned it to contact the New York plane, "Flight 246-A, this is ground control. Adjust course by 45 degrees to avoid collision with unidentified aircraft. How copy?"

No response. The controller spoke again, "Flight 246-A, adjust course by 45 degrees to avoid collision. How copy?"

"They're everywhere!" a frantic voice responded over the radio. Alarmed, the air traffic controller spoke, "Flight 246-A. Repeat last transmission. Over."

"I've got three of these things all over me! I can't shake them! We're-"

The transmission was cut out just as they heard a boom. The fog was thick but they could vaguely make out a ball of light hurtling towards the airport. As it drew closer, they realized it was the fuselage of a plane being ripped apart by three black dragons. The dragons moved away from the burning wreckage once one of them ripped the wing off, and watched as the plane shattered on impact with the runway, scattering debris everywhere. The traffic controller moved to an emergency phone to contact fire crews and barked for the others to start redirecting planes to other airports. As he reached for the phone, he saw a figure appear at the edge of the glass. A ghastly creature staring at them with cold, dead eyes. Its mouth was impossibly large and showed all the razor sharp teeth within. With a snarl, the creature said, "ZOMBIE CLAW!"

Two molded hands emerged from the ghost's pail arms and broke through the glass. They twisted and turned with a sickening crack, throwing everyone in the tower out the windows or bashing them against consoles. The air traffic controller was one of the unlucky few thrown out and hurtling towards the ground. The wind rushed past his head, stopping only when he hit the ground with a crunch. He was only in excruciating pain and mind numbing agony, but he had enough focus to concentrate on what was going on around him. He could make out the sounds of screams and fiery explosions echoing around him. When his vision adjusted, he could make out debris and his coworkers falling from the tower as it was destroyed. The last thing the air traffic controller saw was a shard of sharp glass falling toward his him with the pointed edge angled down.

* * *

"T-Tai! Are you okay?" Kari asked what should have been her older brother. Tamer sat up over the kitchen counter, massaging his head and groaning, "I'm fine. Not the biggest thing that hit in me in the last two days. I think it was a bus, actually."

Yuuko wiped her eyes, "You…you were hit by a bus?"

"Yeah, that's a long story," Agumon said quickly, "Honestly, we've taken worse hits."

"Oh! You are dead!" Yuuko started whimpering again, until she was slapped by Sora's mom, "Yuuko! Snap out of it! No one's dead!"

"Then explain that!" Yuuko shrieked as she pointed at Tamer dusting himself off in the kitchen. He stretched and twisted his body, "I guess I shouldn't complain too much. That kick did wake me up. Oh, by the way! This is yours!"

Tamer retrieved a digivice from his pocket and tossed it to the little girl. She caught it in both hands and examined it carefully, unsure of what to make of the new machination in her hands. She turned to the one person who looked like they could help her understand, "Sora, what's going on? What's wrong with Tai?"

"I guess now is a good time to start trying to explain this," Sora pondered. She wasn't sure where to start her explanation. With her mom, it was easy because she didn't also have to explain the fact that Tai was still alive at the same time. While he was in the room, pacing about like an idiot. Kari looked into Sora's eyes expectantly and she tripped over herself in search of an answer. Thankfully, her mother had already begun trying to explain everything to Kari's mom. As soon as she got to the part about another world, Kari's mom cried, "Are you listening to yourself?"

"Yuuko! There are giant monsters running around, a talking lizard and bird in your apartment, a talking seal right outside your door, and your dead son is standing right in front of you. I thought it was crazy too but," Sora's mom gestured to Tamer, "But Tai is standing right there! I think now is a good time to give the benefit of the doubt."

"Stop calling me Tai!" Tamer barked, "It's getting annoying."

"Calm down Tai," Agumon giggled. Tamer rolled his eyes, "Not you too Agumon."

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," Agumon's giggling turned to laughter. Tamer groaned and hopped on to the couch. Miko mewed and leapt onto the couch with him, curling up in his lap. Sora noticed that Kari hadn't taken her eyes off her brother once, and asked, "Tai…is Sora's mom telling the truth?"

"I'm sorry Carey, I usually don't pay attention to people who get my name wrong," Tamer grumbled, stroking the cat in his arms. Kari looked down at the digivice he'd handed her, moving her face down as if to examine it. But Sora was close enough to hear the quiet whimpers and see the tears falling from her face. In one loud shriek, Kari declared, "STOP CALLING ME CAREY!"

"STOP CALLING ME TAI!" Tamer shouted back, startling the cat awake as it leapt for behind the couch. The exertion of shouting was too much for Kari and she started coughing again. She sank to her knees coughing and hacking. In a sudden and unexpected display of speed, Tamer was beside Kari before Sora could even open her mouth to talk, "Hey! Are you okay?"

"Kari!" her mother ran out of Sora's mother's arms to her daughter, "Kari! Your fever's back, isn't it? You shouldn't have gone outside!"

"I'm…sorry," Kari said between wheezes, "I…wanted…to find…Miko."

"The cat? That little monster gave us the run around all day yesterday. We ended up in some place called Akihabara before we finally caught it," Agumon grumbled, "I don't like that cat."

"Jealous?" Tamer smiled cheekily. He scooped up Kari and carried her to the couch. He sat himself down and rested her flat so that her head was in his lap. Brushing the hair aside, he felt her forehead and commented, "Wow, you're burning up."

"I'll get some water and ice," Sora's mom said, rushing into the kitchen. Kari's mom put a hand to her daughter's head, "I'll pack some medicine. But we have to get out of here!"

"What, are you kidding? It's a war zone out there," Tamer said, gesturing out the window where they could hear thunderous booms, roars of monsters, and terrified screams. Kari's mom argued, "Well it's not safe here. Those things are huge! They could punch a hole in the apartment!"

"Where do you think you're going to go?" Tamer asked mockingly, "The bridge was destroyed. We know, because we were on it! You could try swimming but the water is infested with digimon. Good luck getting more than ten feet."

Sora interrupted him before he could continue, "We could fly! Biyomon can digivolve and carry us all out of here!"

Agumon joined in on the mockery, "Yeah, great idea! The fog is so thick we can barely see more than a few feet in front of us. Let's go flying. We may not see them, but they won't see us! What could go wrong?"

"Well I'm not waiting here to get killed, and neither is Kari!" Kari's mom argued back. She went to get her daughter but was stopped by Sora's mom, "Yuuko! You need to calm down! Sora, help Kari have a drink. Yuuko, please listen to me for a second."

"Fine. But I'm going to pack our things!" Kari's mom declared before heading into the bedroom. Sora's mom handed the glass of water to Sora and followed Karis' mother into the bedroom. Sora helped Kari gently raise her head and drink. Kari sipped at it the water weakly, but managed to swallow a few mouthfuls before putting her head back down on Tamer's lap. She closed her eyes and felt at ease, resting like this. She didn't care for whatever was going on, and whatever her part in it was. At this moment, resting like this with her brother caring for her was more than enough. It was unclear to her how much time passed, but she was awoken by her mother's shouting.

"WHY ARE YOU SO CALM!?" Kari's mom shouted from the bedroom. They could hear frantic packing as she stuffed clothes and medicine into a luggage, "You freak out Toshiko! There are monsters outside eating people! Wait! Weren't there more kids in here a minute ago!?"

Kari's mom ran out carrying a backpack. She dropped the bag by the couch and ran to the door, opening it to find Joe and Gomamon waiting outside. At the first sight of Gomamon, she started screaming again and slammed the door shut. She turned the lock and mumbled, "There's one outside! There's one outside!"

"Huh," Tamer frowned, "Ten minutes. I thought it would take fifteen, at least."

"To do what?" Sora asked.

"Start screaming again," Tamer smiled cheerily.

"Stop joking around Tai!" her mom shrieked. Tamer looked back, "Stop calling me Tai!"

"Stop…fighting…" Kari wheezed, stopping both Tamer and her mother. The room went silent, with the exception of knocking from the door and Joe asking, "Is everything okay in there?"

Sora's mom answered, "We're fine…just talking."

Sora looked from Tamer to Kari, then to their mother. The three of them were looking back and forth at each other, but they stopped when Tamer finally looked at Sora's mom, then to her. There was accusation in his eyes and just the tiniest hint of curiosity. It was odd how the intense expression could make a twelve-year-old boy look like her father when he was furious. He relaxed and asked, "You guys are really insistent on calling me Tai. I get it. He was important to you guys. If I've got this figured out, you were his best friend, you were his mom, you're his baby sister and that would make you the adorable pet cat."

Miko emerged from behind the couch to mew at Tamer when he spoke. Tamer looked at Sora's mom for confirmation and she nodded. Agumon chuckled, "Uh oh. You're going native."

"Shut up," Tamer laughed, "Tell me about him. This…Tai kid that you're all so obsessed that I am."

"Tai! We don't have time for this!" Kari's mom pleaded. Tamer shook his head, "I've got time because I'm not going. You can go if you want, but I'm staying here to protect Kari. And since you're not going anywhere without her, you might as well tell me about him. About Tai."

* * *

Garurumon rolled down the street with Matt, TK, Patamon, Jun, and Davis. TK and Patamon sat in front of Matt, while Matt had to deal with Jun latching on to him from behind - much to his dismay. Davis squealed with delight as Garurumon rushed through the streets, crying out in joy despite the many people around them screaming and trying to get out of his path. Overhead, Kabuterimon flew over the streets with Izzy, Palmon, and Mimi riding atop his head. They only had to go down a block to see why Kari's mom was so freaked out.

Two Tyrannomon rampaged just ahead of them, punching holes in buildings and breathing fire on anyone they happened to come across. From a distance, they watched one of the large red dinosaurs pick up a little girl. A little girl with hair dyed a purple color and wearing a frame of thick round glasses. She flailed and screamed while the giant monster raised her over his head to open his jaw wide open.

Everyone was too busy running to notice, but not the digidestined. Davis screamed, "NO! HE'S GONNA EAT HER!"

"Izzy! Do something!" Mimi shouted.

"Kabuterimon!" Izzy followed up.

"On it!" Kabuterimon picked up his pace, just as the Tyrannomon dropped the girl. In one swift motion, Kabuterimon grabbed the girl and tackled the Tyrannomon to the ground. Kabuterimon used the rest of his momentum to drag the Tyrannomon by its open jaw along the street and slam him against the trailer of a stopped semi. The whole way, Izzy, Palmon and Mimi hung on for dear life while screaming - as did the little girl who was caught somewhere between screams and horror as the giant dinosaur was replaced with a giant fanged bug. She only stopped when Izzy called out to her, "It's okay! We're here to help!"

Kabuterimon lowered the girl to the ground behind him, and let Izzy, Mimi, and Palmon off beside her. She was shaken, but was coherent enough to hear Mimi, "It's okay! Everything's alright!"

"Mimi, maybe you should get her someplace safe," Izzy pointed out, as Kabuterimon went back to fighting the recovering Tyrannomon. The two grappled with each other, recklessly throwing each other around until Izzy shouted, "Be careful Kabuterimon! There are people everywhere!"

"I need to end this quick! Use your computer!" Kabuterimon shouted back as he tackled the Tyrannomon again, disappearing with it into the fog. They could still hear the screams and roars as the two monsters fought each other. Izzy tried to ignore it and opened his laptop to find something, anything he could use on the Tyrannomon. He loaded the database and frantically ran through the file: Tyrannomon. Champion level. Data Attribute. Classified in to Nature Spirit and Metal Empire Families. Found in dry, arid environments. Izzy hurried through the document as the ground shook and he heard a loud boom. He glanced up to see Mimi and Palmon had left with the girl, but there were still people rushing past. One shouted at him, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING KID!? RUN! THERE ARE MONSTERS EVERYWHERE!"

Before Izzy could retort, a police officer picked him up and took off. Izzy tightened his grip on his laptop and shouted, "Hey! Let me go!"

"Not a chance! It's not safe here! We're evacuating!" the officer shouted. Izzy kicked and screamed, "No! Let me go! I'm trying to help!"

As he said this, Izzy noticed several men in police uniforms rush past with guns. The made a line at the end of the street and took aim into the fog at the shadowy figures of Kabuterimon and Tyrannomon. The police readied their weapons, declaring that they would hold the two monsters here so that the rest could escape. Izzy shouted at his partner to flee while he could but he was drowned by the screams of the chaos.

"Open fire!" the lead officer shouted, and a hail of gunfire echoed from the street. Izzy screamed in terror at the thought that the police would kill his partner. The gunfire echoed, then went silent as the Tyrannomon shouted, "Blaze Blast!"

He could feel the heat from this distance and the fog briefly took up an orange glow. The fire crackled and the officers screamed. There was another roar and Kabuterimon was thrown through the fog ahead of the officer and Izzy. The blue bug crashed against the second Tyrannomon with a crack, knocking the lizard off its feet. Seeing the two monsters before them, the cop changed directions into a nearby store and carried Izzy inside. He guided Izzy into the back where others were hiding away from the windows and instructed him, "Stay here."

Izzy spoke at a thousand words a minute, his mind rushing with attempts to explain his reasons, "The way those monsters destroy buildings, I doubt that this store has the necessary structural stability to withstand an attack. It would make more sense for us to flee to another area before they accidentally destroy this building. But there aren't any safe places to hide. Perhaps it'd be better to hide somewhere underground in the sewage system!"

"Kid! I don't have time to talk! Just stay put!" the officer said before dashing back out into the street. He didn't even make it to the door before the large foot of the second Tyrannomon appeared. The cop froze in his tracks as the large feet shuffled. The Tyrannomon lowered its head to peer into the store and Izzy could feel its eye focusing in on him. If it was, the one place he couldn't be was here with all these people. He didn't even think about it. He raced for the door, ignoring the pleas and screams of people begging him not to throw his life away. As soon as he got outside, he waved to get Tyrannomon's attention, "Hey! Over here! Look at me!"

Tyrannomon turned away from the store window to look at Izzy and it roared. Izzy took off in a sprint down the street and into an alley as the Tyrannomon gave pursuit. He was too slow to outrun the monster, but he could outmaneuver it. As big as it was, there was no way it would be able to follow him into a cramped alleyway. Or so he thought. The Tyrannomon tried to reach for him with its arms but, seeing he was out of reach, gave up and prepared to shoot a ball of fire at him. Until Garurumon appeared, "Howling Blaster!"

The blue flames caught the Tyrannomon off guard and Garurumon threw himself onto the red dinosaur, tackling onto the street and crushing cars underneath their weight. Matt, TK, Patamon, Jun and Davis hurried into the alley to find Izzy, "There you are! Where're Mimi and Palmon!"

"Mimi and Palmon went off to take this girl to safety," Izzy explained. Matt grunted, "Girl? Izzy, the entire city is in trouble! We don't have time to save one girl!"

"Isn't that exactly what we're doing?" Izzy crossed his arms, "Trying to save Kari by distracting Myotismon's digimon. Besides! You didn't hear me complaining any time you went out of your way to protect TK."

"Stop fighting guys!" TK scolded them with a sigh, "Gee, sometimes you guys act like bigger kids than me!"

"Tell me about it," Davis frowned, only to get slapped by his sister in the back of the head, "Ow!"

"TK's right. We need to beat these guys quick before they tear the whole city apart! See if you can find some weakness on your computer. TK, stay here. I'm going to go help Garurumon," Matt said. Before TK could protest, Matt already hurried back out into the street.

"Your brother's really cool, y'know that TK?" Jun pointed out, "I wish my brother was just as cool."

"Hey! I'm totally cool!" Davis argued angrily, thumbing at his hair, "Just wait until mom and dad get me some goggles! I'm going to look way cool!"

"Looking cool and being cool aren't the same thing," Jun frowned and rolled her eyes. While the two siblings bickered, Izzy opened up his laptop and continued reading through for a weakness on the Tyrannomon.

* * *

Kari looked up at her older brother in a daze, unsure of where to start. Tai should have known all about himself, right? Why would he ask them to talk about himself? Yeah, she remembered that he had a big head, but it wasn't that big. Then again, he was dead just a half hour ago. Now, he was sitting on the couch and resting her head on his lap. It seemed impossible, but was it any less impossible than him believing he wasn't Tai? She may have been eight, but she understood that she had to pick her words carefully around him - he seemed quicker to anger than she remembered. He began, "Tai was…kind and…caring. He was…really good at soccer…and he played it all…the time with Sora. And he'd look after me…when mom…and dad were out. He also really didn't like…mom's three bean salad. But he…knew I didn't like it…either, so he'd eat…mine for me. Then he'd…get sick and throw it all up."

"Wait, you don't like my three bean salad?" Kari's mom asked. The little girl was glad her face was already flushed so that no one could see the embarrassed look on her face. She nodded sheepishly and went quiet as her mother added, "You never said anything."

"Your brother really cared about you, huh?" her older brother asked. Kari nodded again - still completely thrown off by how he talked about himself like that. She worked up enough energy to say, "Yeah. You…I mean Tai…was the coolest big brother."

There was no change in her older brother's expression. He nodded silently, and leaned back on the couch. He adjusted to face their mother and said, "It's your turn. Tell me about your son."

Kari watched her mom's mouth fall open and she blinked, "What? You're my-"

"Don't," her brother said with a warning tone. His face twisted into a menacing, dangerous look, but cooled while he added, "Start over. Tell me about your son."

Kari watched her mom's mouth open and close repeatedly, trying to find the words to speak but still recovering from the many shocks. As hard as her mother worked and as much as she did, it seemed impossible to the little girl that her mother would have a breaking point. She wanted to go to her mom to hug her, but she couldn't find the energy to get off the couch. Her mom looked between her brother and Sora, who offered her a look of assurance. Kari's mom swallowed and began, "You...Tai was...a good boy. Always smiling and happy. He had a lot of energy too. It got him in trouble at school - he couldn't sit still for anything and the teacher's always put him in detention for it. But he wasn't a bad kid. He just didn't do well with books. And who did for a kid his age? But he made up for it with his athleticism. He was really good at soccer too! That was his favorite game and he'd always try to sneak out with Kari so they could play in the park."

She watched her brother follow along intently, nodding as her mom talked about him. She paused for a moment when she finished talking and asked, "You...remember that, right T-"

"No, I don't," her brother said, "Because I am not Tai."

She wanted him to stop saying those words. But the more he said it, the more it seemed true. The more it seemed possible that the boy she was resting her head on wasn't her brother. He turned his gaze to Sora and began, "You've talked about him before. But refresh my memory - tell me about him."

It was Sora's turn now and she spoke right away, "There's not much else for me to say that I haven't already said. You...I mean Tai, was my best friend. We played soccer together all the time and we did everything together! There was this one time when he threw up in my hat and I was mad at him for weeks!"

Sora laughed a little as the memory came to her, "I didn't talk to him for weeks. I even told him that…I'd rather see him die than forgive him…"

Sora trailed off but her brother continued, "And then he did die. And the trauma was so bad that you chose to forget - that you fought, and that you completely blocked out the memory of him to forget the fact that las thing you said was to 'drop dead'. Which was why you were so broken up over him dying. You blamed yourself. But it had nothing to do with you, did it? Sometimes random things just happen in life like that, huh? Who knows, maybe that was a key point. Something that was meant to happen – supposed to happen."

He didn't accuse her or mock her, but the fact that he pieced so much together from that one fact made her uncomfortable and difficult to breathe in the room. Kari adjusted her gaze to look at Sora who lowered her head quietly. Sora's mom stepped in, "That's not fair. You can't get mad at her for forgetting when you can't even remember your own family."

"I'm not blaming her and I'm not mad. How can I be mad over something I don't remember? Especially over something that had nothing to do with me? They're not my family and Sora's not my friend. How many times do I have to say it? I am not Tai," her brother said flatly. There was no anger or frustration in his voice that time. He glanced down and offered her a dumb smile, different from all the others ones he used to give her. He lifted her head up so that he could slip out from under her and went to join Agumon who had sat himself on the ground. The little orange dinosaur shook his head as he laughed, "I thought it was pretty funny at first Tamer, but you have to admit that they gave a spot on description of you. You are kind of book dumb and-"

"Sora, say the first two big numbers that come to your head," Tamer grunted. She blinked, "Um..."

"Today please," Tamer grit his teeth, and she blurted out, "One thousand two-hundred and thirty-six, and Four-hundred ninety-two."

"Add those two numbers and you get seventeen-hundred and twenty-eight. Multiply those numbers and you get six-hundred eight-thousand, one-hundred and twelve. Divide the first by the second and you get two point five one two one nine five one two one nine, and so on. When you factor one-thousand two-hundred and thirty-six by the power of four-hundred ninety-two, you get-"

"Thanks for making your big head look even bigger. You know what I mean," Agumon crossed his arms, "You're book dumb by your people's standards. And, you always had trouble paying attention to anything. Although I think that works to your advantage. How else do you keep track of a hundred different things happening at the same time? It was a funny coincidence at first, but now I'm kind of going to their side."

"Agumon, the thing about coincidences is that's all they are!" her brother said, "Coincidences! My name isn't Tai Kamiya because I am the Digimon Tamer! I am not an eight-year-old boy!"

"Whatever you say Tai," Agumon snickered as Tamer groaned. Kari looked at her brother growing increasingly frustrated as he stopped to look at the shrine in the living room. He cocked his head to the side and commented, "This world...if I remember your major regional beliefs are Shinto...or was it Buddhism? Hindu? No…what was it? Whatever. Anyway, that's supposed to be one of the family shrines, right?"

Kari's mom nodded, "Yeah, it's for y...for our son. He died in the terrorist attack four years ago."

Her brother picked up the photo and turned it to the side, "I hardly see a resemblance. He's too short, his hair's all funny, he's nose is all smushed, and he's missing a few of his front teeth. But...I like his fashion sense. I have an old set of clothes just like that. They don't fit anymore but I'd still wear them if they did. And the goggles! They look just like mine."

"Ta…Tamer, please say some of this is making sense to you," Sora said more than asked of her best friend. Her brother looked up from the photo and tossed it to Agumon. It was the little orange dinosaur's turn and Biyomon leaned in to take a peak. The pink bird gasped, "No way! It looks just like you…if you were younger. And cuter."

"Are you kidding? I'm adorable," her brother said, as he started pacing around the room. Kari stifled a laugh to keep from coughing again, but she was glad Tai was able to keep his sense of humor. Even if he couldn't remember her and he was different from how she remembered, some part of him had retained who he was.

"Using very loose definitions of the words 'I' and 'adorable'," Agumon added with a grin. Biyomon laughed with him while the two mothers looked on in silence. The air was still tense but her brother laughing helped lighten the mood. But all of the tension returned when her brother suddenly let out a loud scream while clutching at his head, "AAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHH!"

Kari rose up too quickly from the couch to aid her brother and fell back onto it when all the blood rushed out of her head. While she sank back into the couch, Agumon commented, "I didn't think my joke was that bad."

When her brother screamed again, Agumon ran to his side with Sora. Joe and Gomamon threw the door open at the sound of the scream, "What's going on?"

"Tai!" Sora called out, running to the boy as he fell to the floor squeezing his head between his hands. He rolled onto his side, curling up into a ball as he screamed in agony.

"What's wrong!?" Agumon asked, "Did something-"

"I don't know!" Tamer shouted, still holding his head, "But something's wrong! I can tell! Something is very WRONG! MY HEAD! IT'S BURNING!"

* * *

Mimi and Palmon hurried away with the little girl in hand. It seemed wrong to just leave the fighting to Izzy, but they couldn't exactly leave a little girl in the middle of a fight with two giant monsters. They had only gone down a block or two, when they found themselves face to face with another Mammothmon. It blared its trunk and roared, "Tusk Crusher!"

Its tusks shot off its face and flew into the crowd of people fleeing from its onslaught. The explosion sent bodies flying in all directions, and a spray of pink mist covered the area. Mimi stopped and dragged the girl into an alley, making sure to hide the poor girl behind her. She was bawling now, crying for her parents and her sisters. Mimi shushed her, "Hey! Hey! It's okay. Everything will be fine."

The little girl held back her wails. The tears still streamed down her face and she heaved heavily, but she was at least trying to be calm now. Mimi added, "I'm Mimi. What's your name?"

"Yo…Yolei," the little girl said.

"It's nice to meet you Yolei, where do you live?" she asked. Yolei looked around her and seemed ready to cry again, "I…I…"

Mimi patted her, "Don't worry. We'll find your family. Everything will be alright!"

"We need to help them," Palmon declared, still looking out into the street towards Mammothmon and the people fleeing for their lives. Mimi nodded her agreement, "Right! We have to help!"

Even though she said those words, she couldn't bring herself to move. She could feel her hands shaking steadily, but she tightened them into fists to stifle the shakes. Yolei was counting on her. The people of their world were counting on her. She couldn't let them down, or afford to fail. The thought frightened her. Palmon took her hand, "It's okay, Mimi. Breathe."

Mimi took in a deep breath and sighed, "Okay. Thank you Palmon."

"Hey! What are best friends for?" Palmon smiled brightly. Mimi pumped her fists up, "Alright! Let's go get'em!"

"On it!" Palmon rushed out into the street. Mimi's digivice shined to life and Palmon shouted, "Palmon! Digivolve to! Togemon!"

Togemon hurried down the street with her fists raised into the air and nailed a punch against Mammothmon's face, planting the large creature firmly on its the ground, "Take this!"

Mammothmon tried to get up but Togemon was on him, pinning the large creature to the ground and dealing blow after blow. Mammothmon roared, and wrapped its trunk around Togemon's arm. It cracked it like a whip and the large cactus was thrown into the front window a nearby store. People who had taken shelter inside the store ran outside screaming in terror. Mammothmon was too focused on Togemon to notice them, and they scattered, either into other stores or further down the street. Mammothmon noted a red sedan beside and picked it up with his trunk. He swung it around like a club deliberately and forcefully, trying to get one good blow.

Togemon was able to step out of each swing because of how slow they were, but that didn't stop the damage it dealt to the surrounding area. Lamp posts broke, buildings were cracked, and holes were punched into the ground. With each swing, they could see the grip on the car weaken. With one more swing the car flew out of Mammothmon's trunk and flew towards a nearby building, where a family of four was frozen in terror.

Time slowed down as Mimi watched the wreck of a car go flying towards them. The two parents stood in frozen shock while the youngest boy clung to them in total terror. The eldest boy was the only one able to move. He pulled at his family to try and get them out of the way, but they wouldn't budge. He called for them to move, and begged them to do something. When they didn't budge he finally gave everything for one last push with all his strength to protect his family. He was able to get them onto the ground, but ended up falling over beside them. The car horn blared as it tumbled into the store through the window, disappearing inside and throwing shards of broken glass everywhere.

"Stay here," Mimi instructed Yolei while she ran out to help the family. Togemon returned to fighting the large mammoth and managed to flip it on its back before showering it with needles. Mammothmon roared before finally laying still, unconscious.

She reached the family, to find the father thanking the eldest son. But whimpers and yelps alerted them to the youngest brother. The little boy with short cut blue hair lay flat on his back, holding at his bloodied stomach where a large piece of glass dug deep into his abdomen. The boy coughed and splattered blood up onto his mom, whimpering in agony. The two parents gathered around the little boy while the eldest brother screamed, "KENNY! KENNY!"

The little boy answered with more whimpers, still holding his stomach tight and looking ready to break out into tears. Mimi gasped as she came close, seeing the mom repeatedly beg, "No! No! NO!"

The father kept trying to pry the boy's arms off the injury, "It's okay! It's okay! Let me see, buddy! It's okay! It'll be okay!"

Mimi watched the scene before her, almost freezing in shock and horror as the family watched the youngest son dying in front of them. She had to do something, like get them to a hospital or find a doctor but she didn't know if there was one close enough. They had to fly to get there in time, but they were too far away. The hurried beat of wings behind her reminded her that Kabuterimon was nearby and she called out into the fog, "IZZY! KABUTERIMON!"

Through it, she could make out the shape of a large insectoid coming towards them. When it came into sight, she saw the green hide and the razor sharp blades it had instead of arms. It hissed at her and carried on straight towards Togemon. Togemon barely had time to react as it brought both razor sharp arms in to slice her in half. She was able to block the attack by bring both arms up and holding insect's forearms, keeping him from closing the two blades together. The insect hissed at Togemon and she commented, "Boy! Your breath stinks worse than the last guy!"

She used her left leg to kick the digimon back down the street where it came from, "Get lost!"

The large digimon crashed into a parking garage, tumbling onto the top parking deck and flattening several parked cars. At the same time, Mammothmon regained consciousness and started getting back up. Mimi saw the little boy start fading and realized there was no more time to waste fighting these two digimon. They had to get him some where he could get help, but they couldn't go anywhere if those two would end up following them.

They had to end this. And they had to do it quick. And the thought gave her pause. She couldn't kill. Izzy had done it, so had TK and Sora. And Tamer and Agumon had probably done it over and over again. It would've been easy, right? No, it wasn't going to be. She assured herself of this - but if she was going to help anyone, she would have to go that far. If it meant saving a life, was there really any point arguing it? But what about the lives of the digimon like Mammothmon and the flying green bug. They weren't going to come back - this wasn't the Digital World. But as she watched Togemon become outmatched against the two digimon, she realized that she may never be able to reconcile doing what she had to do with herself - but it was better than the possibility of losing her partner. She reaffirmed this as she took in the sight of the family before her. Even if she hated herself for it, she would do whatever it took to help. And as she thought this, her crest came aglow with a soft green light. Her fists trembled as she cried, "Get them Togemon!"

"Togemon! Digivolve to! Lillymon!"

Gone was the large comical cactus with boxing gloves. In a flash of light, she was replaced by a beautiful human sized pixie with a dress of pink flowers and green, vine-like hair. Lillymon was much smaller than Togemon, and nimbler. She easily moved around her two attackers, aided by a pair of green leaves on her back that fluttered like wings. The two digimon were simply unable to keep up with her faster movements, until she turned on the two digimon, "Sorry boys. It's been fun but play time is over! FLOWER CANNON!"

She brought her two hands together and they merged into a single budding flower. The petals blossomed to reveal a cannon underneath that fired a blast of white light at the two digimon. They were only able to roar before they perished, leaving behind clouds of data that dissipated into the fog. Lillymon cheered briefly but stopped when she heard the whimpers of the little boy. The boy had closed his eyes now, tears streaming down his face from the immense pain he was feeling. The parents were pleading with him to stay with him but he wasn't moving. The eldest brother cried the loudest, "Kenny! Don't die! PLEASE! KEN!"

"He needs to get to a hospital!" Mimi said to her partner, "Togem...Lillymon, can you take him?"

"I can. What's a hospital and where is it?" her partner asked.

"Kototoyosu Hospital is the closest," Mimi instructed her partner pointing off into the fog, "It's that way. It'll have a big red cross. You can't miss it."

"Okay," Lillymon reached for the little boy but the father pushed her away, "GET BACK! STAY AWAY FROM MY SON!"

"But-"

"LEAVE US ALONE! THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" the father shouted, picking up a piece of nearby glass to use as a weapon. He held it so tight that the edges dug into his hand and dripped blood everywhere, "I won't let you harm anyone else!"

"I was trying to help," Lillymon tried to explain but the boy's mother interrupted, "You can help by going away!"

"It's alright! Lillymon's on our side!" Mimi reasoned to the family, "She stopped those monsters! Isn't that enough? Just let her help."

The father lowered the make shift knife and Lillymon took this as a sign to step closer, only for the father to jab at her with the glass. Her partner backed away quickly and nervously watched the dad train the glass on her. Finally, the older brother choked out, "Dad...please...we have...to...save Kenny! PLEASE!"

The dad blinked and lowered the glass, looking at his little boy who's breathing was slowing. He was running out of time and they had to decide. Mimi could see all the anguish, frustration, and fear running through mind etched on his face. It was a difficult decision to trust the life of his dying son to someone else. But he nodded, "Take him there. We'll follow. He'd better be there when we arrive."

"Take me with you," the older brother said. His parents looked at him and started, "Sam-"

"I'll go to make sure he's safe," Sam began, "The two of us should be light enough to carry and I can make sure she doesn't try anything-"

"No Sam! I'm not letting you go with that...thing," his mother started but the brother had already picked up his own piece of glass from the ground, "I'm sorry mom. I'm going...because I can't let Ken go."

The two parents looked at their eldest son quietly and nodded, "Okay. We'll be there as fast as we can."

Sam nodded, and Lillymon scooped up the little brother. She cradled him in his arms while Sam latched on to her side. Lillymon adjusted Ken so that she could hold him in one arm and wrapped Sam in the other. As she prepared to fly away, their parents said, "Sam, take care of Ken."

"I will," Sam nodded. Lillymon was off, flying as fast as she could for the nearest hospital. The parents followed suit, hurrying through the streets to catch up to their sons. Meanwhile, Mimi returned to Yolei's side. She still had to help her find her family. All the while, she thought of Ken and hoped he would make it.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Will Lillymon make it in time? Is Ken going to die? What happened to the other digidestined? Find out in two weeks on Friday, June 10th at 5PM CST. That's right guys. I'm taking another break. This one is for personal reasons. I'm going to meet some family I haven't seen in a while and I don't want to interrupt that by spending time writing and editing. If you loved it, let me know in the review section. I usually reply in a day or two. I also welcome constructive criticism and speculation on the next chapter. And now, random lines from the next chapter:

"I knew. I always knew," Myotismon sneered and threw Wizardmon at the floor before her.

"They were on their way to set up a perimeter around Wangan Police Station and Town Hall on the west end of the island."

"Who are you?" Nancy asked.

"I'm sorry doctor. This kid broke into the blood bank and locked himself in there for twenty minutes," the security guard explained.

"Please…help my brother," was all the boy said.


	28. I Always Knew

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hello, good evening, and potato to another chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure! Thanks so much you guys for being so patient with this story's persistent breaks in schedule. I'm sorry to say that I needed the time to catch up with family and attend to personal errands. Thanks to everyone who left reviews and favorited/followed the story. Props again to Ace Spiritwell for producing the cover art for this story. Give their fanfiction and deviantart accounts a look. And hey, while I'm mentioning, have a look at BelenDigiEvolution's deviantart account also because they made some great fan art for the story. I'm going to start linking them in my profile because the fan art is really good. Okay, let's start with some guest reviews to get this ball rolling:

 **Guest 1:** Not all of the movies. Some like Digimon X-Evolution won't be covered since I haven't seen them. That may change in the future, but I'm going to leave them aside for now. Others won't be covered because I couldn't quite fit them into the time line I had planned.

 **Guest 2:** Not the games either, since I haven't played most and I couldn't fit the ones I had played into the timeline I've built. That said, the role of the Royal Knights will be limited for the time being as I don't want to play all of my cards at once.

 **Guest 3:** De nada. Me alegro de que te gusto la historia. Espero que les guste este tambien. Creo es correcto. Perdon, mi espanol es terrible.

Alright! Let's start the next chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 28: I Always Knew**

Gatomon and Wizardmon walked into the sewers through one of the many drain pipes that fed out into bay. Wizardmon leaned on his cat friend, acting like he was injured and leaning on her for support. To help him look the part, he'd asked Gatomon to kick him around the grass a little bit. She didn't particularly mind doing so either. He'd caused her quite a bit of grief in the hundreds of years she'd known him, and had quite a bit of frustration to let out. Although most of it was venting over just finding out that Wizardmon had known more than he let on. She thought he could trust him as a friend and was surprised that he'd kept such an important secret from her.

Further in, where the light faded out to darkness, were two Bakemon standing guard. They bowed out of their way as the pair walked past, Wizardmon occasionally grunting to help sell the injury act. One of the Bakemon winked and whispered to the cat, "They say some fall for the nursing type."

Gatomon rolled her eyes while Wizardmon lowered his hat to hide his face. They continued further into the darkness and the stink, passing by more Raremon and Bakemon standing guard to protect Myotismon's lair. At some point the smell became more distinct, not better but different, as they entered the area that their lord accommodated as his personal lair. He'd had his coffin moved there and it was where he slept for most of the day until night came. At least, that's what they expected to find.

Instead, they found a mess of bodies scattered across the floor - young and old, fat and thin, men and women. All of them lay scattered along the ground, eyes gazing blankly into the distance and with ghostly pale skin. The bite marks on their necks indicated one thing - they'd been sucked dry of their blood. And huddled in the center was Myotismon, holding a young boy tight as he fed off his blood. The boy paled with each gulp and his eyes slowly went lifeless. Eventually, Myotismon dropped the boy to the ground and wiped his mouth clean, breathing heavily from his feast. It hadn't quite registered to him that they were there, since his eyes were blood shot and vacant from the bloodlust. Some blood trickled down his face and he licked his lips to savor what was left. He grunted when he finally realized they were there, and remarked, "I've never tasted anything as exquisite as human blood. It leaves me…ravenous. It gives me cravings for more."

"The city is your play thing, Master Myotismon," Gatomon said, "Have as much as you want. Although it looks like you've had your fill. Have any more and you might add a few pounds."

"I don't care for your opinions. Why aren't you two with the main force?" Myotismon asked them disapprovingly, folding his arms to retain his composure despite his obvious desire to go out and get more blood to feast on. Gatomon explained, "Wizardmon took a nasty hit and was injured. The humans are stronger than they seem."

"And the fact that he looks like _you_ beat the life out of him?" Myotismon raised an eyebrow at her.

"That was for being so weak that the humans could get the better of him," Gatomon purred excitedly. She dropped Wizardmon to the ground and hissed, "There. I got you this far. You can go the rest on your own."

"Thank you…Gatomon…" Wizardmon said weakly from the ground. Gatomon kicked him under foot, "Not in front of Master Myotismon."

"Forgive me," Wizardmon said meekly, earning him another hard kick from his cat friend. Myotismon shook his head, "I will never understand this…friendship that you two share."

"There's a lot of give and take," Gatomon remarked, wandering away from Wizardmon to poke one of the bodies lying on the ground. Wizardmon tried to push himself up but feinted collapsing to the ground with a noticeable thud. Myotismon strode towards the weakened digimon and declared, "Gatomon. You know where I stand when it comes to those who fail me. And Wizardmon isn't fulfilling his obligations to me. Do you understand?"

Gatomon understood and gulped worriedly. She recalled the many ways Myotismon would torture his victims before finishing them. And if this was the case for Wizardmon, she just hoped it would be quick, "Yes…Lord Myotismon."

Myotismon's lips curled into a twisted smile, "Good. Then you understand that he must be punished for his weakness."

"NO!" Wizardmon yelped, using all of his strength to push himself off the floor. He managed to get up onto his knees, but had to lean on Myotismon to keep from falling over. Myotismon made no moves and watched with interest as Wizardmon continued latching onto his leg to help pull himself up. Once he'd managed to crawl his way to Myotismon's belt, Wizardmon let go to try and steady himself.

His legs wobbled but he eventually balanced himself enough to stand. He grunted out, "I…am ready…to serve…Lord Myotismon."

Myotismon nodded his satisfaction, "It looks like all you needed was the proper motivation. Now return to your duties and continue destroying the city."

"Yes, milord," Wizardmon bowed just enough to wobble and unsteadily made his way for the entrance. Gatomon followed suit and walked alongside her friend in a slow pace to help sell the act. She whispered, "Did you get it?"

"Thanks to a little sleight of hand," Wizardmon said back, briefly flashing the crest and tag from within his cloak. He put it away and pretended to fall onto her, "We still have an act to sell."

"Right," she mumbled. As they walked along, one of Myotismon's bats fluttered past and roosted itself on his shoulder. They could hear it shrieks and squeals as it communicated, while Myotismon responded, "Yes. I see. A diversion no doubt, otherwise they would all be there. Hm. One is an ultimate? Indeed. Very well. Then we shall meet them in battle. Order the Bakemon to retrieve the families. Let's see the digidestined fight when their loved ones are at stake."

"What?" Gatomon stopped and looked at Master Myotismon. Her master strode past her and stated, "The digidestined and their digimon are fighting in a part of the city called Koto, near the water front. But not all of them. If the eighth child were there, they would all be trying to defend it. Since only half of them are there, it can only be a diversion and the eighth child is somewhere else in the city. And we'll make them tell us."

"So we're going after their families?" Wizardmon asked, following the vampire digimon through the sewer. Myotismon nodded, "Yes. We are. And once we have what we need, we'll kill them anyway."

"Master Myotismon, don't you think that's going too far?" Gatomon asked, hurried up alongside her master, "Wouldn't it make more sense to just fight them head on? It's not like they're a match for us!"

"Don't you think Wizardmon has walked too far on his own someone's who injured?" Myotismon asked. Gatomon gasped and looked to Wizardmon, who looked like he'd just realized he'd made a grave mistake. Myotismon added, "Shock and awe. The strategy of overwhelming the senses and demoralizing the will for resistance. Going after the families is the shock. Pointing out Wizardmon is the awe."

He moved so quickly that he was on Wizardmon before Gatomon could even react. He'd pinned Wizardmon to the wall with one arm and added, "Did you honestly think I wouldn't notice that the tag wasn't in my pocket anymore?"

"I was thinking something. Quite hard too," Wizardmon joked, producing the tag from his cloak and showing it to Myotismon, "You can have it back if you want. But you and I both know you won't kill me. Because you know what will happen if you do."

Myotismon snatched the tag from his hand and case it into the water streaming past. It disappeared beneath the murk and Wizardmon mused on the idea of light being swallowed up by darkness. He would not allow that to come to pass, and destiny was with him. Myotismon jeered, "What makes you say that?"

The wizard digimon chuckled, "Did you think you were the only one who saw the future? As much time as I spent working on the gate for you, did it ever occur to you that I would use it? Or is your hubris clouding your perception?"

"Your games are cute, but my patience is short. Besides, I knew you would betray me for Gatomon. I didn't need to look into the gate to know that. But I bet you didn't know that I knew Gatomon was the eighth child's partner," Myotismon tilted his head to look at Gatomon with his piercing eyes. Under his scowl, Gatomon's mind flooded with memories of the years of abuse and torture he put her through. She found herself falling to the floor and saying, "Wait! Lord Myotismon! I'm sorry! I…I didn't mean to…I didn't know…I…I-"

"I knew. I always knew," Myotismon sneered and threw Wizardmon at the floor before her, "I won't kill you. Not yet, anyway. You're too broken, too obedient to be a threat. You have been and always will be just a tool for my amusement. And I can also use you to lure out the eighth child. After all, you are their partner."

"There are still four other children," Wizardmon looked over his shoulder at Myotismon, recalling the future as it should be, "They will stop you!"

"They will die in the fire, with the rest of the city," Myotismon's smile widened. With a snap of his fingers, a colony of bats appeared to swarm around the defenseless kitty. She was so taken by fear and horror that she couldn't even scream. She just closed her eyes and let the bats do what they had to. Experience taught her that it would be over faster if she didn't resist.

* * *

Doctor Kido hurried down from the ED to the ambulance bay. On a day like today, when emergency protocols were in effect, being called down there was one of the last things he needed. It didn't help that they were unable to call in any other staff to help since the phones weren't working, which meant that the ED was already overflowing with patients but didn't have enough staff to keep up.

He arrived at the loading bay to find a nurse using some paper to fan an unconscious registration clerk while two security guards kept their batons trained on an odd woman with buggy eyes and a flowery dress. Before her was a short boy with spiky hair and glasses, standing in front of them with his arms out as if to protect her. Cradled in the woman's arms was a little boy who appeared dead, save for the weak breaths he drew.

Doctor Kido blinked when he saw the two boys, briefly reminded of his own sons and immediately pushed the two guards aside, "What's going on?"

"Please…help my brother," was all the boy said. Dr. Kiddo looked past the boy to the younger one still in the woman's arms. He didn't need to be a doctor to see she was clearly one of those monsters that people had been raving about for the past hour. However, she was clearly not a present danger or a threat. He could tell just from the way she was shouldering the dying boy in her arms - she clearly was trying to keep him comfortable despite his condition. The doctor nodded and called for a stretcher to be brought out right away. The nurses who arrived were shocked to see the female monster but let her place the boy gently on the table. Then she departed – flying into the gray fog with her fluttering wings. While they brought the younger boy in, the doctor pulled the boy aside and asked questions on their way to the ED.

The boy explained everything to him - the monster attack, the car crash, the glass breaking, and this girl who showed up with her own monster to fight off the bigger ones. Doctor Kido thought of his own son who was likely out there doing the same for others. He welled with pride but also felt worry that this was what his son might be seeing. But fretting over it now would do no good, and he trusted his son. He would be alright. Now came to the hard part. He asked the boy, "Where are your parents?"

"Lillymon couldn't carry us, so she brought me and Kenny instead! They said they would catch up with us. That was the last time I saw them," the boy explained hastily. Doctor Kido thought of protocols and the liabilities that came with not having the proper forms signed. Then he motioned for another one of the registration clerks to help, "Take care of the boy and get as much information as you can. Medical histories, allergies, everything. You did a brave thing. I promise, I'll do whatever I can to save your brother."

Dr. Kiddo went straight back to the ED. To hell with the regulations and protocols. If they were going to crucify him over some paperwork just to save a boy's life, then he would tender his resignation and end his relation with the medical group. He would do whatever he had to do for the sake of saving as many lives as he could. But that was a tall order for someone like himself, and the day was far from over. More and more people were going to come.

* * *

Tamer continued lying on floor, holding his head and whimpering in pain, "Don't...no...can't...pain..."

Agumon still sat beside him, keeping a hand on him to calm him down and repeating, "It's okay...It's okay..."

"What's happening to Tai?" Kari's mom asked. Joe adjusted his glasses and explained, "He gets like that whenever something happens that isn't supposed to happen."

"What?" Sora's mom shook her head in confusion. Gomamon shrugged, "We don't really get it either. But he usually snaps out of it. The first time this happened, he was unconscious for a day."

"For a day!?" Kari's mom gasped. Agumon shushed her, "Just give him a minute."

"Is Tai…Tamer going to be okay?" Kari asked worriedly. Agumon shook his head, "The last time I saw him like this was back in the war. Back when things started getting really bad."

"War? What war?" Kari's mom asked worriedly. Before Agumon could answer, Tamer jumped up in an excited mania, "I'm alright! I'm okay! Quick! Let's all go outside before something worse happens."

"Tamer! We're protecting Kari! Remember?" Sora pointed out to the boy who was already rushing for the door. He stopped just as he grabbed the door knob, then locked the door and spun around to face them. He ran up to Sora and furiously shook her hand, "Right, right. We're protecting the girl. The girl. Must protect the girl! Must…"

He fell to the floor again, clutching at his head, "GAH! My head!"

"Is...is that normal?" Sora's mom asked as he started rolling on the ground. Gomamon watched as he ended up rolling into foot of the couch, "I don't think this kid knows what normal is."

"That's my son you're talking about," Kari's mom pointed out, just as he jumped back onto his feet, "And we're back! Alright! Let me just-GAH! Okay! I'm okay...I'm okay..."

He rolled along the ground and bumped the kitchen counter so that a carton of orange juice fell over and hit him on the head, "I'm not okay!"

* * *

Masami and Kae Izumi looked out their window into the thick fog. They could just make out the buildings across the streets, but it didn't obscure the sounds of screaming and thunderous explosions. Every so often the apartment shook, and it reminded the two to stay together in their living room where it would be safe. Their son was out there somewhere with a little monster friend that would help him stop all this. He was fighting, right now, to protect them and everyone else.

And it terrified them. There was no telling if they would succeed, or if they would fail. At best, he would succeed and everything would be alright. At worst, they would lose their son and the world would be destroyed. So, at the least, they wouldn't be alive to worry about it. But that only made it worse - knowing that their son was involved in a high stakes battle for the fate of their world.

As they sat there worrying, they took note of a floating hooded figure at their balcony that wielded a scythe in its hands. It tapped the pointed end of its scythe on the sliding glass door and motioned for them to open it. They didn't want to and it could have easily forced its way inside. Against his better judgment, Masami made his way to the door and slid it open - allowing the figure inside. It glided past into the center of their tiny apartment and greeted them with a bow, "Good day. I am Phantomon."

"Hi," Kae said uneasily.

"How are you doing?" Masami asked more to be polite than as an actual greeting. Phantomon kept his scythe steady and stated, "I'm here because your son or daughter is a danger to my lord's plans and we hope that taking you in would help convince him or her to stay out of our way. Now, don't get any ideas of resisting or fighting back. After all, I was only told to bring you in alive but Lord Myotismon was very vague on the condition you need to be in. This is unrelated but you don't need your legs to live, do you? Whatever the case, I am trying to offer you the polite and easy surrender. If you'd prefer, I can take your legs and drag your bloody bodies with me."

"What's going to happen to our s...our child," Kae asked anxiously, mind racing with all the possible things this creature could do to him. Phantomon's expression was unreadable as he explained, "If he complies with our requests. Nothing. He or she and their digimon will be allowed to live, and you will remain unharmed. However, if he or she resists or fights back, then your lives and theirs are forfeit. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Masami nodded. Phantomon cackled and rose into the air so that he hovered above them, "That's settled then. I hope you raised your child to make responsible decisions."

"We did," Kae replied. In an instant, a number of ghosts appeared around them to restrain the two parents. The two parents shuttered at the touch of their frozen skin but allowed the ghosts to restrain their hands. Phantomon approached them and muttered, "Sleep."

Before either adult could tell him to back off, the world faded to darkness and they fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

Kabuterimon and Garurumon fought the two Tyrannomon, chasing each other up and down the street until they finally reached Daiba Park - a small manmade diamond-shaped peninsula that shot out from the rest of Odaiba. The center of the island was lower than the rest of the land structure, just below sea level. On a normal day, one could see Rainbow Bridge out on the northern edge of the island. Garurumon and Kabuterimon squared off against the two Tyrannomon before going at each other again. Izzy, Matt, TK and Patamon followed the fight as it moved to the park. Izzy commented that it would be safer to keep fighting here since it was so far from the crowds and the open space would give their digimon more room to maneuver. Davis followed along to watch the giant monsters duke it out, cheering whenever Kabuterimon and Garurumon dealt a blow, and booing if any of the Tyrannomon gained the upper hand. Jun came along as well, half to look after her kid brother whom she never left alone, and half to be close to Matt. Matt kept his distance from her, although it was to stay close to his little brother since TK was weary of the girl. In his own words, he didn't want to catch cooties.

As the monsters fought, Izzy opened up his laptop and continued examining the database for a weakness on the Tyrannomon. It took him a while, but he eventually found something useful, "It says they're dimwitted and single minded. Easily baited and lured into traps."

"So we just lure them into a trap? What, should we just dig a hole?" Matt asked sarcastically, "We don't exactly have anything set up!"

"Are you kidding? This is Daiba Park!" Izzy stated, "We're already in a giant hole! And we're surrounded by water!"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Davis asked the computer whiz. Izzy pointed out into the water, "We can bait the Tyrannomon into the bay and then have Kabuterimon shock them! They won't see it coming!"

"Okay, I'm excited for this plan now," Matt pumped his fist, "Garurumon! Try to lead them into the water!"

"The plan won't work if they heard you talking about it!" Garurumon howled back as the Tyrannomon tackled him into the side wall of the island. Kabuterimon rushed in to help out the wolf, only to be grabbed out of the air by the other Tyrannomon. With one swing, Tyrannomon slammed the insect into the ground and roared.

"Oh man! What's with these guys!? Were they this strong before?" Matt asked aloud. Garurumon and the first Tyrannomon he fought tore at each other with claws and teeth, but neither one gave an inch or backed down. Meanwhile Kabuterimon tried to get airborne but was never able to get far with the second Tyrannomon constantly swatting him out of the air. Watching the stalemate draw itself out, Patamon said, "I have to help them!"

"That's right! Go get them Patamon!" TK began to say, only for Matt to intervene, "No TK! You two stay out of this!"

"But Matt, Patamon and I can't just sit here and wait! Garurumon and Kabuterimon are in trouble!" TK argued wearily. Matt nodded, "I know TK. Just let us handle it."

"But-"

"Don't argue with me TK!" Matt scowled at his little brother. Jun, who had admired Matt was off put but his sudden cold behavior, "Whoa! Relax Matt! He just wants to help."

"And I just want to protect my little brother! What's so hard to understand about that?" Matt scowled angrily. Izzy chose that moment to intervene, "I agree with Matt, but for a completely different reason. Right now, out of the three of us, Patamon's champion level is probably the strongest. It'd make more sense to save him for when something more dangerous comes up."

"So then what do we do?" TK asked. Izzy passed his laptop to Matt, "Please take care of this. I'm really going to regret doing this."

Without a second thought, Izzy slid down the slope into the basin at the center. Jun watched the short boy run off and asked, "What is he doing!?"

Izzy dashed between the four fighting digimon and screamed, "Hey! Tyrannomon!"

The Tyrannomon stopped fighting to stare at Izzy. Izzy waved his arms in the air and pointed for the lake, "I bet I can beat you guys to the water."

"He isn't," Matt said in disbelief when Izzy started dashing. Falling for his ploy, the Tyrannomon forgot about their battle with Kabuterimon and Garurumon, rushing straight for the edge of the islet. Jun slumped down, "There is no way that is going to work."

"They're going to eat him!" Davis shouted when the two Tyrannomon gave pursuit to Izzy. He ran as fast as his short legs could carry him, but he wasn't very athletic and was soon out of breath. Couple this with the Tyrannomon's longer legs and longer stride, and the two digimon were soon caught up to Izzy. Then they overtook him and continued running straight for the water. Their mouths fell open when the two Tyrannomon leapt into the water to make a huge splash and Matt sighed, "Did that just work!?"

"Kabuterimon! Now!" Izzy shouted. His insect partner hovered just above the water and produced a ball of electricity between his hands. He showered the water with electricity, "ELECTROSHOCKER!"

The Tyrannomon screamed and danced as the current ran through their bodies, before they were finally dispersed into clouds of data. Before they had time to cheer and celebrate their victory, another thunderous boom behind them reminded them that there was still more fighting to do. They were still too close to the Kamiya apartment to be a distraction and had been separated from Mimi. She could have been anywhere.

* * *

Nancy Takaishi rushed down the streets in search of her son. She didn't know where to look or where to go, but she should have known better than to let him go off on his own. She didn't know why she allowed him or why she thought something as small as Patamon could take care of him - but she wasn't going to let them be on their own. Not without her.

The streets were complete chaos and police were doing everything they could to cordon off sections of the city - blocking streets and redirecting traffic as they needed to. But none of it mattered since the number of these monsters were endless. They appeared everywhere and without warning - destroying everything that came into their view - buildings, cars, animals, and people. Some were inexplicably fixated on churches and temples, but most seemed intent on destroying everything around them.

As a journalist, Nancy had never seen anything like this - an attack that was so unexpected and yet so well coordinated. She'd heard of events like this in history books - the Tet Offensive, Pearl Harbor, Teutoburg Forest - but none of them ever involved giant monsters appearing to blow up a city. Her editor was definitely going to make her cover this when it was all over. _If_ it was all over.

Everywhere she turned, there were monsters destroying everything in her path: fire breathing dinosaurs, mammoths that shot ice, insects with fired energy beams, and ghosts all roamed the streets - tearing apart whoever they found. No one was spared their slaughter. She had to ignore a lot of her journalistic instincts when she went outside to find her son - leaving behind her notepad, her tape recorder, and her camera.

Eventually, Nancy sought shelter in a nearby parking garage - dashing behind a parked pick-up truck to avoid a pack of little rabbit-dog monster things giving chase to a group of terrified people. Thankfully, they all raced past the parked vehicle, blissfully unaware that she was hidden behind it. She snuck a peak when she thought it was clear and found herself stared down by a large man wearing leather pants, a metal skull mask, and chains. His hair looked like blue flames running up the side of his head. She gasped as he picked up the truck with both hands and threw it aside with ease, "You will come with me."

Nancy tried to run around it but the man threw a car in her path. It growled, "You WILL come with me!"

"Who are you?" Nancy asked. The man growled but spoke clearly enough, "SkullMeramon. And you are…something, something. Your names are difficult to remember. Either way, you will come with me!"

"What do you want?" Nancy asked. SkullMeramon narrowed his eyes, "You talk too much."

The world went black as she felt something hit the back of her head.

* * *

Mimi and Yolei hadn't gone very far since Lillymon left and anxiously awaited her return. She would need to get back soon if they were going to have any hope of defeating the endless digimon still appearing around the city. They'd only managed to go a block before another digimon appeared - large blob of trash and slime with bulging eyes. It opened a cavernous maw full of teeth to let out a roar and cut off their path to the nearest bridge.

The two girls were forced to go hide inside a nearby café, an older building with a bell that rang when they opened the door. Mimi slammed it shut and prayed that none of the digimon outside heard the bell ring. It was a small quaint shop with a post-modern style that was trying to be both old-timey and trendy at the same time. It appeared to have been deserted in a rush, with cups of coffee and books still lying around, until they saw a few more survivors huddling in fear behind the counter. One of the baristas bid them forward and let them behind the counter, "Thank goodness you two are alright. What were you two doing out there by yourselves?"

"We were trying to find her family," Mimi said, "She got separated from them and we don't know where they are."

"It's a nightmare out there. You two should count yourselves lucky," the barista told her. Yolei looked around at the people gathered there and sniffled, "I don't see my sisters or my parents here."

"I'm sure they're alright," Mimi tried assuring the girl, "We just have to wait for Lillymon to get back. Then we can go looking again."

"Aren't you two kids listening? It's not safe out there!" the barista said in a shrill voice, "It'd be better to stay in here and wait!"

"Right now, yeah. But we'll be okay as long as Lillymon gets back!" Mimi insisted.

"Look! I don't know who this Lillymon is but there's no way-"

"Lillymon!? As in a digimon?" said a man in the back. He was a tall, lanky man with long black hair and a dark turtleneck sweater over khakis. The man walked straight towards Mimi and asked, "Tell me, are those digimon out there?"

"You know about digimon?" Mimi asked nervously. The man nodded, "Yes. I knew it! I knew IT! They are digimon! Ha ha! Wait until Hiroki hears about this."

"I don't know what you two are talking about, but you need to keep your voice down! You're going to get us killed!" the barista said sternly at a hushed voice. They all fell silent when the bell to the cafe door rang. The barista peered over the counter and sighed, "It's okay. He's back!"

Mimi peeked over the counter too and saw a man she recognized from the bridge as the father of a crying little boy. The man was holding a utility belt: a holster with a gun, a baton, and pouches loaded with who knows what. The man stopped when he saw Mimi and gasped, "It's you. You were on the bridge! With that boy!"

"I'm happy to see you're alright," Mimi commented in surprise. The father nodded just as the little boy's voice echoed, "Daddy!"

Cody appeared from behind the counter to jump on to his father and hug him. Officer Hida patted his little boy, "Hey son."

They were joined by his wife and after a brief hug, the father asked, "Where're your friends?"

"We got separated," was all Mimi offered. Officer Hida frowned and swallowed dryly, "What about the kid with the goggles? He looked like the only one who knew what was going on."

"He's protecting his sister. It's a long story," Mimi answered. The father shook his head sullenly, "That's a shame. We really could've used their help."

"Did you find anyone?" the officer's wife asked. He covered his son's ears before answering, "It's a mess out there. The monsters are attacking everything in sight. Some people are even trying to take advantage of the situation - looters, thieves, the works. But the rest of the force is too busy to do anything about it. I ran into a few of them. They were on their way to set up a perimeter around Wangan Police Station and Town Hall on the west end of the island."

He uncovered his son's ears and the boy looked at his mother jealously, as if she'd been given something he didn't. The father continued, "We should head there. It'll be safer and there will be more officers there to help protect us."

"Where'd you get that?" the barista pointed at the belt, and more importantly the gun in his hand anxiously. Officer Hida wrapped the belt around his waist quietly, glancing back out to the street, "A buddy of mine. He didn't make it. I'll tell you what, though. He was a lousy shot. I only have two bullets left in the gun. But he has three full cartridges left. He's good. If we're going to move, it'd better be now."

"We should wait!" Mimi said to the father, "Lillymon will be able to hold off the monsters when she gets back and that'll make it safer for the rest of us!"

Here, the man who spoke to her earlier chimed in, "We should listen to her Hiroki. The monsters! They're digimon. Like from our old video games, remember?"

"Not this," Officer Hida groaned, "Yukio, we don't have time for kids' games any more. We're adults now and that means we have to set the example for our kids. I'm glad you can still find time for this, but I can't. Especially not now."

"But Hiroki-"

"We need to go," Officer Hida said to the group, "The monsters are moving onto another area. This may be our one chance to get to safety!"

"Hiroki, maybe we should wait," his wife pleaded with him, "We might last longer if we have one of them on our side."

He shook his head in disagreement, "There are hundreds of these things crawling the streets. One won't make much of a difference. Especially if they gang up on us. We need to move, and we need to do it now. The longer we wait, the worse it will get."

"Not with Lillymon! We just have to wait! She can protect us!" Mimi insisted only for the barista to speak up, "Will you stop it kid! I don't know who this Lillymon is, but now's the time to listen to the adults."

Mimi tried to protest but realized there wouldn't be much point. She'd been sincere enough in what she wanted to do, but if she went with them then there was the chance that Lillymon would find them all together. And that would be better than letting them go on their own. She'd like to think Lillymon wouldn't but there was always the possibility that she may ignore them if they ran into trouble, just to find her. She was a digidestined after all. She still had a duty to protect them.

* * *

Doctor Kido continued his work on the boy Ken Ichijouji in the operating room with his team. He'd been hooked up to several units of blood but the sudden increased patient load had drained the blood bank of most of their product. He had to make what was left in this last bag count. But there were still too many broken glass shards in the boy's gut and there were bleeds all over the place. It was almost a certainty that the boy wasn't going to make it. Even so, he continued removing glass, sewing shut tears, and stapling together cuts. At some point, they would have to get the last of the damn pieces out.

He could see just a few more pieces - one exceptionally large piece was close to the hepatic portal vein. With great care and precision, Doctor Kido removed the shard without touching the vein. Then the alarms blared and the boy started fading. His blood pressure dropped and his heart rate increased to keep the blood flowing, and the good surgeon could see why. The shard was holding blood flow to another cut further down. And now that it was removed, the blood was flowing. He tried to seal it but the blood was flowing too quickly. The boy was fading fast and they started emergency procedures to keep him alive.

The instruments screamed as his heart rate went up and his blood pressure fell. He was simply bleeding too fast. All of this couldn't silence the loud slam into the OR as the boy's older brother came in with his sleeves rolled up and holding test papers. He waved them, "Use me! Use my blood!"

One of the security guards rushed in after him and tried to pull him back, "Get out of there! It's a sterile room!"

"I'm compatible! Listen to me! I'm compatible!" the boy's older brother screamed. While his team continued trying to stabilize the boy, Doctor Kido stopped the guard, "Wait. What's going on? What is he saying?"

"I'm sorry doctor. This kid broke into the blood bank and locked himself in there for twenty minutes," the security guard explained, "He snuck out before we could get-"

"Not you. The boy. What do you m…wait, what?" Doctor Kido paused when he finally recognized the part about breaking in. The older brother had locked himself in the blood bank and was screaming about his compatibility. The guard released the boy and he spoke frantically, but the doctor was able to keep up, "I'm sorry. I heard you were out of blood. I snuck and tested myself! I'm the same type as my brother. I have no history of antibodies or transfusions. I even tested myself against his sample! There were no adverse reactions or signs or reactivity! We are compatible!"

"I'm sorry but we can't do this without your parents' consent," Doctor Kido shook his head. The boy looked almost distraught at those words and ready to break down, "Please…it's my brother…"

Doctor Kido looked into the boy's eyes and thought of his own son in the same position. As a father this was one of the things he would never want to be in. He would never want to feel so helpless if his any of his sons' lives were on the line. But the risks were too great. The alarm blared louder, reminding him of the urgency of their situation, and he sighed. Against his better judgment, he said, "You understand that there are risks. There's no guarantee either of you will survive."

"I…I can't…please…just save him! SAVE KENNY!" the boy shouted. Doctor Kido looked back at his team, still trying their hardest to keep the boy alive, then at the little boy on the table. He was going to be crucified for this but he said the words anyway, "Nurse. Get this boy scrubbed up. I'll take over the resuscitations. Get him back in here and hook up. We're going to do a direct transfusion."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Is Ken going to make it? Will Sam be okay? What about the parents of the digidestined? Is Kari's mom mad about the spilled orange juice? Find out next week on Friday, June 17th at 5 PM CST during the next installment of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure. If you loved it, let me know in the review section. I usually reply in a day or two. I also welcome constructive criticism and speculation on the next chapter. And now, random lines from the next chapter:

The commanding officer instructed, "Hold fire! Let it get closer."

"You mean to tell us that you knew all this would happen? And you let them go anyway!?" Joe pointed out in a panic.

"Matt! I can help out too y'know!" TK said defiantly.

Mimi screamed, "Lillymon! Where are you?"

Izzy speculated, "We might have made it worse."


	29. Hold The Line

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hello you beautiful readers and welcome to another chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure! A huge thanks to everyone who left reviews and favorited/followed the story. Big props again to AceSpiritwell for producing the cover art for this story. Give their fanfiction and deviantart accounts a look. I know I said I would start linking fan art in my profile but I ran into a difficulty with the links. I'm trying to figure out how to post them. In the mean time, let's start some guest reviews:

 **Guest 1:** Fair enough, I can give it a watch but I can't guarantee that there will be a place to fit it in the timeline of The Tamer.

 **Guest 2:** Less inclined to watch most game walkthroughs. I may give Anode/Cathode/Tag/D-1/Brave Tamer since I can genuinely see Ryo's story fitting into the timeline of the Tamer.

Okay, let's start the next chapter of the Tamer!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 29: Hold The Line**

The Tachikawa couple dug through their closet and kitchen to arm themselves with whatever they needed. They closed their curtains, turned off the lights, and locked the doors to keep the monsters from getting in. Outside, they could still hear the screams of panic and the thunderous booms that made their little apartment shake. And Mimi was out there somewhere with that little talking cactus-flower thing. And they weren't going to just sit by when she was in danger. They were far from the strongest or the bravest people in the world, but they refused to let any harm come to their daughter.

Keisuke Tachikawa retrieved some old golf clubs he used for when he golfed with his work buddies and Satoe taped her sharpest kitchen knives to the ends like a spear. These were replaceable to the businessman and house wife. Their daughter was not. They didn't think these would at all be useful against the monsters, but something was better than anything.

Once they were certain they were ready, the couple opened the door to their apartment – prepared to go out and find their daughter. At the door, they found themselves staring at a pair of bed sheet ghosts with wide grins that revealed razor sharp teeth. Satoe immediately slammed the door on them only to find that they easily passed through the door. With a raspy echo, the first ghost spoke, "Oooh! We are the servants of Lord Myotismon! You will come with us or we will-"

The second ghost slapped the first and spoke more clearly, "Knock it off. You look like an idiot. Alright, listen up. We don't want to hurt you. We're only here to take you to our master. He wants you two alive for some reason."

Satoe blinked, "What?"

"Did you have to ruin it?" the first ghost asked.

"You already ruined it when you went through the door acting like that. Nobody acts like that. We're ghosts and _we_ don't act like that!" the second ghost snapped. The first ghost slouched and whined, "I was just enthusiastic and I think we should put more effort it our parts."

"I'll give you effort," the second slapped him again. The first ghost yelped and floated back, allowing the second to take command, "So, what do you say? Come with us? I mean, we're taking you anyway. But you can come in one piece or you can come with broken legs."

Satoe and Keisuke looked at each other then took a stab at the two ghosts with their weapons. The make-shift spears passed through the ghosts and the first sighed, "See. This is what I mean. We don't act like ghosts so no one respects us like ghosts."

"Oh, shut up and knock them out," the second growled. The two ghosts swarmed the couple and knocked them out.

* * *

The Tokyo Wangan Police Station was located along Odaiba's waterfront, just a block away from the the small district's city hall. The front entrance was humble and faced out onto the street while the rear of the building faced the waters of the bay area. Before the building ran an elevated rail line that paired well with the station's excessive design, reminding everyone of Odaiba's presence as a more glamorous district in the city.

It was also where the local police force were making their stand against the horde of monsters that had appeared to overtake Tokyo. The two sides pushed against each other as hard as they could but the monsters were making their way inch by inch. The police had set up barricades and road blocks along the streets leading up to the station but it seemed like it did more to slow down the people running from the monsters than the monsters themselves. In fact, the only thing that looked like it was slowing these creatures down was the fact that they were working through the people too slow to get away from them.

Still, the police fired whatever they had with their small fire arms. Those trained in riot control geared up in their suits and headed out in their blue uniforms and riot shields. These few brave police formed a line three men deep at the entrance to the station to hold off smaller monsters that look like rabbits. A few were trained snipers and they took positions at the windows to pick off the monsters. But the fog made it impossible to pick off anything until it was already at the line of police with shields.

And as powerful as their rifles were, the larger digimon didn't even seem to notice the impact. In fact, they seemed more confused - they registered that something was hitting them but had no idea where they were being hit from. And the mild annoyance didn't slow down their rampage, or help the people they were chowing down on.

As the crowd of people began to thin, the police became more liberal with their shooting and began shooting gas grenades into the monsters to ward them off. The gas grenades worked on the smaller ones and they cleared out in a fit of coughs. But the larger monsters carried on unabated towards the station. No amount of bullets slugging the large monsters could deter them.

Kabuterimon and Garurumon hurried towards the sound of the gun fire with their partners riding on their backs – Matt, TK, and Patamon rode atop Garurumon while Izzy, Davis and Jun rode atop Kabuterimon. Jun was more than freaked out at having to ride the giant bug and incredibly disappointed that she couldn't ride with Matt. They didn't immediately join the fray, instead hanging back to figure out how many there were. Izzy counted three Tyrannomon, twenty Gazimon, eight green insect digimon that Kabuterimon identified as Snimon, four Mammothmon, and a large Tyrannomon that was completely black. It wore a leather wraps around both arms and shouted commands to the rest.

Izzy had never seen one like it nor had their digimon. He referenced his laptop database to find information related to the new digimon, "DarkTyrannomon, champion level, virus attribute, classified into Dragon's Roar and Nightmare Soldier Families. Predominance in arid climates…yadda yadda…Tyrannomon digimon affected by virus during digivolution…increased aggression, strength, and intelligence at the cost of speed and durability. Will attempt to draw out battles from a distance and command other Tyrannomon class digimon."

"How do we beat him?" Matt asked aloud. Izzy continued flying through the data, "There's nothing specific but it looks like if we beat him head on, then that might make the other digimon stand down."

"Great, this is just like Koromon Village again. We have to get to the strongest guy who is going to hide behind his big army!" Matt groaned.

"No it's not. We don't have anywhere to run and neither do they!" Izzy said defiantly, still reading through the laptop, "Wait. I got something. It says here that as a Nightmare Soldier, they have a natural weakness against the Virus Busters and Holy Knight families."

"Okay, so where do we get one of those?" Matt asked. A few more button presses was all it took for Izzy to pull up the information he needed. He turned his screen and showed them the file on Angemon, "We already have one."

"NO!" Matt said right away, "They are not-"

"Matt! I can help out too y'know!" TK said defiantly.

"TK, don't get mad. Your brother is just worried," Patamon tried reasoning with TK to no avail. It was like something had snapped in his mind and the little boy hissed, "I want to help! We have to help! I'm not going to stop just because Matt's a scaredy cat!"

"Hey! He's not a scaredy cat!" Jun chose the worst possible time to jump in and found herself backing away from the little boy, "You butt out of this! No one's talking to you or your cooties! You're only defending him because you like him, and that's totally gross! Ick!"

"Leave Jun alone!" Davis piped up, "If anyone's gonna pick on my sister, it's going to be me!"

"Okay, TK, calm down. We need cool heads if we're going to avoid making mistakes. You are going to help. And you aren't going to have a problem with it Matt," Izzy said wearily to the two brothers. Both shot him a nasty look, but Matt's was hostile while TK's was more accepting. Izzy went on before either of them could respond, "The police are making a big enough distraction. The computer says that DarkTyrannomon is smart enough to recognize a threat and will address it right away. But he also prefers to keep his distance. Here's what I'm thinking – Garurumon and Kabuterimon can draw his attention away from the police. Once they're far enough away, Angemon can fight DarkTyrannomon!"

"So when do I digivolve?" Patamon asked. Izzy scanned back up the street, "As soon as we have Dark Tyrannomon and the other digimon up the street with us. If you show up first, he might not come for us at all."

"What about us?" Davis pointed at himself and his sister. Izzy looked back up the street, "Once we have them chasing us, you guys make a break for the police station. But wait until they've all gone past us. Then it'll be safe to go."

"I want to help too!" Davis said anxiously. Izzy waved him off, "Sorry Davis. I don't think there's anything you can do to help us. Just…stick to the plan and run to the police when you get a chance."

"Okay," Davis said in sullen defeat. He hung his head and took a few steps back. Izzy continued looking through his laptop but motioned for the digimon to go, "You guys go and draw them back. I'm going to get more information on the other digimon."

"Okay!"

"Let's go!"

Garurumon and Kabuterimon were tired but were still ready to continue fighting with all they had. Kabuterimon flew ahead and unleashed a storm of electricity along the ground, getting the attention of the larger digimon. The digimon stopped in their tracks and awaited the commands of DarkTyrannomon. He roared his orders, "Snimon pursue the Kabuterimon! Mammothmon follow and trample the Garurumon! Tyrannomon hold positions!"

* * *

Hiroaki Ishida finished throwing on his coat and hurried out to the parking garage nearby. A reporter for the Fuji TV News Station, he was used to working long hours if it meant covering breaking stories. The day started out like any other – or rather as normal as it could've been. After dropping his son off at the summer camp, he headed into work and found the entire news room abuzz about strange weather phenomenon across the globe. Of course, covering the news meant all kinds of crazy stories came through – while he wasn't assigned to that story, he did get assigned to another story regarding the mayor's office. Someone close to the mayor – some disgruntled aide or perhaps even under-appreciated intern – let it leak that the mayor was having an extramarital affair with a woman half his age. Unfortunately for him, this meant pulling an all-nighter. Of course, a few other stories came by about giant monsters and possible Godzilla sightings – but those were largely dismissed as pranks.

Until a rival news station got hold of footage of two monsters battling. Hiroaki and a few others were assigned to cover this story – but really had no idea where to start. They tried talking to the police but were told the investigation was now above their heads and couldn't comment any further. So they talked to a few scientists and professors from Tokyo University, and were told to go talk to the company that owned the rights to Godzilla. All in all, he and his crew spent all night trying to get a hold of people who either wouldn't take the story seriously or would give him the cold shoulder. Before he knew it, the all-nighter had gone into the next morning.

And that was when all the madness started. The computers and electrical equipment started acting up – cameras began picking up static and image artifacts, audio became heavily distorted, keyboards and monitors stopped working at random, and other strange behavior. Then at nine, everything suddenly stopped working – the lights, the vending machines, the computers. At first, it seemed like a power outage, but they soon learned that flash lights, portable radios, and electronics with batteries stopped working as well. At the same time, one of his coworkers called their attention to a nearby window.

They watched several green dinosaurs with horns protruding from their backs march their way past the headquarters building in a single file line. Those with years of experience were used to the occasional sudden and impromptu promotional stunt. Years of working in media had him convinced that this was just common place. Then he watched them tear people apart while destroying a city block, and he realized something was desperately. His first instinct was to try and get a hold of his wife – but the phone lines weren't working.

His second instinct was to get their kids. His two sons were away at summer camp and he didn't want to chance that they would be in any danger. He reached his older car and turned the key in the ignition. The car groaned and whined in protest and he tried a few more times to get it going. When it didn't start, he shifted the car into neutral and rolled it out into the ramp. Thankfully, it was a manual transmission which meant if he did this right, he could pop the clutch and get it going. It took one roll and a quick hop into his car, followed by a few motions based on muscle memory, but he was able to get the engine started. He shifted it into gear and made his way out of the parking garage. He was going to get his sons – no matter what.

* * *

Officer Hida led the way down the street with his gun out. His wife stayed just behind him with their son held close while Yukio followed close behind. Mimi guided Yolei by hand as the little girl was left bawling for her parents. It was hard to see in the fog, but Mimi kept looking skyward in search of her partner anyway. The street was clear of monsters and people, but had plenty of rubble from destroyed buildings littering the road. The further they went, the tighter Yolei held her hand – there was still no sign of her family anywhere and their hopes hinged on finding them at the station.

Around them, they could hear screams, explosions, and gun fire. Officer Hida anxiously kept guiding them to the station. The closer they went, the louder the gun fire and explosions became. Officer Hida and his wife whispered to each other anxiously, unnerving the rest of the group. They could tell just by the sound: the monsters were now at the police station and some people were losing their nerve.

"We should head back to the café! It was safer there!" one panicked.

"The monsters are already tearing the police apart! You can tell just by how loud it is!" another worried out loud. Officer Hida looked at the group and barked, "SHUT UP! Look. The worst thing you can do in a situation like this is panic! I promise, I won't let anything bad happen to any of you so will you all just calm down! Making noise is only going to attract more monsters!"

This reminder calmed most of the group down, but one still intended to flee, "No. I'm not taking that chance. I'm going back!"

"No don't!" Yukio said anxiously, "Hiroki is my friend and he has never gone back on his word. So trust him. He will protect us!"

"You trust him. I don't! He's a cop! That's all the reason I need not to trust him!" the adult snapped in a panic. He ran back up the street, ignoring the pleas from Oikawa and ran straight into a sticky white web. The adult struggled to free himself but resisting only made the substance wrap around him more tightly. When he was completely covered, an unseen force pulled him upwards while he screamed into oblivion. Then they heard an unmistakable crunch followed by silence. The silence turned to cackling and a large hairy spider descended from on high, crawling down the side of the building with a bloodied mouth. On its head was a yellow helmet which spiky orange hair poking out from underneath.

"What is that thing!?" one of the survivors shouted. The spider hissed and gnashed its bloody maw, "I am Dokugumon, loyal servant of Myotismon. None are allowed to pass through here and live to tell the tale. Beware my sticky web, or I'll you all whole."

"RUN!" Mimi shouted at the group. Officer Hida cursed and drew his gun, moving between everyone and the monster. His wife and friend pleaded with him to come, but he urged them to go on without him. This was his duty – to protect the people no matter what that entailed. Mimi knew it was a digimon but had no idea how he intended to fight it. And without Lillymon, there was nothing to be done.

Mimi pushed Yolei ahead of her, and they followed the group as they ran past the officer. Cody screamed for his daddy, but his mother and Oikawa carried him along despite his protests. The father followed along, occasionally stopping to fire at the digimon despite it shrugging off the bullets. While they ran, Mimi screamed, "Lillymon! Where are you?"

* * *

Kari forced herself off the couch to her brother, who was on the floor quietly mumbling to himself, "Fifty-five, eighty-nine, one-hundred forty-four, two-hundred thirty-three."

"Tai! You're sicker than I am! You're skipping numbers," Kari exclaimed in a worry, noting that he was counting up but entirely at random. Her brother suddenly hopped up on his feet in another stage of mania, "No! You're just doing it wrong! GAH! Okay, focus. Focus. Focus."

"Tai! Please calm down!" her mother pleaded, only for the boy to stop and stare at with a crazed look, "I am calm! But right now i need to focus. Have you ever woken up with a hang over? Well imagine that, but someone decided to start playing music next to you, and then they told you to win a game of chess! That's what being me feels like right now! Argh! Okay, not good. So not good. Myotismon, what are you planning?"

Kari watched anxiously as her brother began pacing nervously, "I just need something to take my mind…off the headache! He's after you. We know that. But what else is he planning? He's already trying to change the future but it would help if we knew just how far into the future he's seen!"

"Wizardmon said he's planning on killing everyone. What was he supposed to do?" Sora asked nervously, "It won't hurt to tell us, right? I mean, since Myotismon clearly isn't doing it."

Tamer continued pacing the room anxiously, "He was supposed to spend a few days searching, then get tired of doing that and start rounding up all the kids he could find! Then he'd go through them one by one to find the child. But no one was supposed to die! Some people would get hurt, but that was all."

"Well, if Myotismon knows that's what he was supposed to do, then why wouldn't he do it different?" Joe mused, "And if you knew he was going to do it different, then why didn't you take steps to keep him doing it the way he was supposed to."

"I thought I said it before? Some things don't matter. It's the key points that are important," Tamer grumbled, "The most important part is he…never mind."

Joe and Sora blinked. Gomamon approached the pacing boy anxiously, "What?"

"Nothing," Tamer frowned as he kept pacing anxiously, covering his mouth with his hand as if to keep himself from talking. Gomamon clicked his tongue with disappointment, "After everything that's happened and is happening, when are you going to start letting us in on things? What is supposed to happen?"

Tamer stopped to stare out the windows, although there wasn't much to look at with the fog. He sat in silence but they could still hear the rampage going on outside. Not wanting to listen to the screams, Gomamon pressed her brother, "Well!?"

"Gomamon," Joe chastised his partner. Kari watched her brother flop on to the couch beside her, massaging his temples, "It's fine. Look, when you know what's going to happen ahead of time, and you understand the consequences that occur should that predetermined destiny fail to achieve itself, you take any action to make it so. No matter who or what gets hurt along the way."

"You're doing that cryptic thing again," Agumon groaned, bringing a brief smile to her brother's face, "I guess I am. Here's what supposed to happen: Wizardmon and Gatomon get caught. And then there's a whole lot of talking. Then we end up at a TV station where Kari finally confronts Myotismon. Then we beat him. That's all I can say."

"You mean to tell us that you knew all this would happen? And you let them go anyway!?" Joe pointed out in a panic, "Why would you do that!?"

"You think Wizardmon didn't know? He already said that he knew how things were supposed to play out. He said that he would help things along," Tamer smirked. Gomamon turned furious, concerned for the wellbeing of his friends, "What about the others? Was there any point in letting them go out and try to distract Myotismon!? You knew Wizardmon and Gatomon would get caught, so why didn't you tell them to wait here?"

"Would it have done any good to convince them otherwise?" Tamer asked Gomamon curiously. The little digimon stood his ground but Tamer carried on, "They wouldn't have been able to sit still if we had them just waiting here, knowing that the city was being destroyed. If there was a positive to letting them go, they'll feel better about themselves when all this is over."

His choice of words made Kari's mom gasp, and she quickly wrapped her arms around her daughter. Tamer waved a finger at them in disappointment, "If that's what has to happen. Because…never mind. All that matters is that Kari and Gatomon are the ones who defeat that pain in the neck. No joke intended."

"What?" Kari cocked her head to the side.

"Because he's a vampire," Agumon sighed. Joe slapped his forehead and moaned, "It's good that you can find time to make jokes while the city is being destroyed."

"I said no joke intended," Tamer raised an eyebrow and continued pacing the room, "I think I'm being quite productive, all things considered. I've added a few hundred steps to my step counter."

He showed them the digivice which displayed a small number. Joe and Sora examined theirs, "This thing can count steps?"

Tamer approached their digivices and pressed a few buttons. The screen flashed to show that each had different numbers on them and Tamer explained, "It can also adjust to the relative time in whatever world you're in, microwave food from over fifty feet, operate as a high powered flash light and pick up signals from literally any frequency in the world!"

"WHO CARES!" Kari heard her mom snap as she pulled her in close. Kari's mom hugged her tight while declaring, "I'm not letting her get involved in this! I already lost Tai! And now he's alive and…whatever he is! And then Susumu, he…I'm not going to lose my daughter!"

"Like it or not, your daughter is already pretty involved in this," her brother said plainly, "You can deny it as much as you want. She still has a role to play in saving the world. Is your daughter worth the world?"

"Kari is my world!" Kari's mom screamed, and she felt her face flush. Her brother stared at her mom, then at her. She had no idea what her brother was thinking, but he didn't look happy. He didn't look sad, either. After the longest time staring, he stood up off the couch and added, "I hope she's worth it. Now might be a good time to move to the building across the street."

"Why are we doing that?" Sora's mom asked, "What happened to waiting!?"

"Did you guys miss the part where I said Wizardmon and Gatomon get caught? Give it ten minutes, maybe an hour at most, and they're going to swarm this apartment looking for her."

Tamer pointed straight at Kari, and her mom tightened her hold on her. He went on to add, "Pack up anything you can. This apartment won't be around much longer."

"Tai…er, Tamer. what are you thinking?" Sora asked the boy as he pulled a drawer out of the kitchen and emptied its contents onto a nearby table, "They'll come into this apartment looking for Kari. Might as well make it a trap."

* * *

The police in front of the Wangan Police Station held their ground as long as they could, but it was obvious that nothing they could throw at the large dinosaur like monsters was enough to slow their momentum. If anything, they were more annoyed than harmed by any of the gunfire, barricades, and roadblocks. The larger ones were almost to the station but stopped to look back up the street. It sounded like one was talking but it was too far away to make out anything specific. They turned and started to leave, disappearing into the fog and towards the sound of fighting.

Then they heard the unmistakable rhythmic beating of wings and a large blue beetle buzzed past, followed along by a swarm of the large green ones. The officers watched as the blue beetle dodged and weaved through the green insects' attacks – guiding them away from the station while they continued their pursuit. While it led them away, they saw blasts of blue light come from the end of the street, where the large monsters had retreated towards. It was anyone's guess what was actually happening, but it seemed the monsters had turned on each other. If this was anything like the old monster movies, then it would make more sense to let them fight it out instead of getting involved.

The officer in charge called out to the rest to hold their fire and their positions. There were still who knows how many people out inside the station – and they couldn't let the monsters anywhere near. Down the street, they could hear more fighting, but it was hard to place what it was. Then a blast of blue fire came through the fog and shot over their heads, just narrowly missing the buildings. The entire force collectively raised their weapons and pointed down the street for whatever was going to come their way.

They could already make out the sight of two small figures running towards them. The commanding officer instructed, "Hold fire! Let it get closer."

He was glad he gave that order when the two figures finally came into view and they saw two kids running at them: a red haired girl and a younger brown haired boy. The girl was pulling at the boy's arm was shouting, "Keep running! Just keep running!"

"But they're back there!"

"Davis! Just run!" the girl shouted. Another figure appeared behind them in the fog – much larger than the two children. A large black dinosaur with green scales along its back and leather gloves on each claw. The dinosaur growled at the two kids and gave pursuit. Without thinking, the commanding officer shouted, "Open fire! Protect those kids!"

The order was moot, but they pulled their triggers anyway, angling their shots to avoid the kids running towards their line. For all the good it did, they might as well have done nothing. Like the other monsters, the bullets bounced of the large creature to little effect and it hardly seemed to notice it was being shot at all. The kids screamed at the sound of gunfire and quickly ran into a nearby building.

The dinosaur stopped to peer inside, trying to reach inside and roaring when his hand was too big to reach inside. This only brought the kids running back out through another exit and they continuing running for the station. The police continued shooting, hoping that it would at least distract the monster. At that moment, a couple ran out of the station in shock and began arguing with officers trying to usher them back inside. Over the roar of the gunfire, the commander heard the man say, "Get out of my way! Those are my kids! Do something! GET THEM OUT OF THERE!"

The commander glanced back at the couple. The man threw a punch at one of his officers, and another tackled him to the ground while the lady screamed. The commander cursed and told two of his colleagues to keep up the pressure. Without another word, he broke away from the police line to rescue the kids.

They saw him coming and ran to meet him, reaching out to be saved. The dinosaur was hot on their heels and ready to attack. They weren't going to make it. Before he could take them, he heard a voice cry out through the fog, "Hand of Fate!"

A single beam of light pierced through the fog and struck the black dinosaur from behind like an arrow. The dinosaur groaned in agony and breathed its last before disappearing in front of them. Beyond the parted fog was an angel bathed in light so bright that it cleared the area around it to reveal destroyed buildings and panicking monsters. The commander grabbed the two kids and ran back to the line, where the rest of the police force gawked at the angel before them. When he dropped the two kids, they ran to their parents and hugged them - glad to be back in safety. Their happy reunion didn't last long as the boy started talking about a bunch of kids and their monsters fighting to protect them. His dad assured the boy that it was his own imagination, but the commander had to admit that it wouldn't be the strangest thing he'd seen today.

The angel was an odd sight and the last thing any of them expected to see, but also shouldn't have been that surprising with the giant monsters running around. The monsters that had been attacking before stopped as well to marvel at where the black dinosaur had been moments before. Then they looked to the angel, hesitant to avenge their fallen. The green insects overhead even stopped their pursuit of the blue beetle to stare at the angel that appeared before them. The angel glanced at the monsters below expectantly, and they stared back in anticipation. They appeared to be talking to each other.

Amidst the paralyzed monsters, they saw a group of people emerge from the street corner. They paused at the sight of the monsters, then continued on to the station. From the group, they could hear a few shots of gunfire and the commander cursed again. It was impossible to tell who was shooting, but getting the noise brought the attention of all those creatures bearing down on the group of survivors. Snapped out of its stupor, one of the red dinosaurs growled, "Blaze Blast!"

The angel moved out of the way and returned with another ray of light that extended from his hand, "Hand of Fate!"

The beam hit its mark and dinosaur disappeared. Reinvigorated, the other monsters began attacking again – both on the ground and the air. This time, they alternated between the angel and fleeing survivors. The police braced themselves for the few monsters making their way towards them. Then paused when they saw the group of survivors run into their line of fire– they had to shoot, but they couldn't risk hitting civilians.

* * *

Mimi, Yolei, the Hida family, and the rest of their group continued running while the large hairy spider pursued them. Officer Hida lagged behind, stopping to occasionally fire a few shots before running to catch up. After running so many blocks in a row, Cody complained of being too tired to run and was carried by his mom on her back.

In the distance, they heard the gunfire in the distance suddenly stop – a sure sign that something happened at the station. Either the police were overrun or they'd beaten back the monsters. There wasn't much time to consider alternative places to run with the spider hot on their heels. When they reached the last city block before turning to reach the station, they found themselves running right into the heels of a red Tyrannomon. The dinosaur didn't notice their arrival as it was too overwhelmed by the presence of an angel above.

Angemon.

The light from his body drove back the fog and gave them a clear view of the police station up the street, where the police were staring equally in shock at Angemon's presence. In the other direction, Mimi could see Garurumon, Matt, TK, and Izzy. The three boys were staying just out of sight while Izzy worked on his laptop. Izzy looked up briefly to look at all the other digimon, then spotted Mimi. There was a splash of relief on his face, and then surprise when he saw all of the people with her. He motioned for her to go to the station. Mimi nodded and quietly said, "Let's go! They haven't seen us!"

There was a murmur of agreement among the survivors, and they hurried to the police station – hoping that the monstrous creatures wouldn't notice them going past. Their hopes were dashed when Cody's father fired the gun a few more times behind them. While the gunshots didn't grab their attention, the appearance of Dokugumon did. It gnashed its teeth at the other large digimon and hissed, "What are you doing!? There's only one of them and an army of you! KILL IT!"

Reminded of this fact, the Tyrannomon was reinvigorated and cried out, "Dukugumon's right! BLAZE BLAST!"

It shot a ball of fire at Angemon, and the angel moved aside. He raised his fist and struck back, "Hand of Fate!"

The Tyrannomon didn't stand a chance and was blown away. The other digimon regained their senses and started attacking. A few took notice of their fleeing group and gave pursuit – picking off those furthest to the back. There were screams of horror and howls as the digimon made their way through the people. Mimi pulled hard on Yolei's arm to keep her from looking back, and she screamed, "Don't look! Whatever you do, don't look!"

Cody, who was still being carried by his mom, could only look back while she ran. A few more gun shots rang out and Cody's eyes widened in fear, "DADDY!"

The gun fired faster, then suddenly stopped. There was a sickening crunch that made her skin crawl and she could see Cody's expression go blank. His mother tried to keep him from looking, but the little boy kicked and cried aloud while shrieking, "NO! DADDY! NO! NO! DADDY!"

* * *

"Izzy, this isn't working!" Matt grit his teeth angrily. Angemon, Garurumon, and Kabuterimon were trying their hardest to fight off the other digimon. There were too many people in the mix and it was impossible to protect them all, no matter how badly they may have wanted too. It didn't help that the police didn't seem keen on talking and they knowingly shot at al the monsters. Garurumon and Kabuterimon included.

"It seems that without leadership, they've resorted to their base instincts to attack mindlessly," Izzy speculated, "We might have made it worse."

"Great plan genius! So what do we do?" Matt asked impatiently while their partner continued fighting.

"I'm looking! We know the Tyrannomon aren't very smart and the Mammothmon have a weak spot on their belly," Izzy stated, "But those green digimon are Snimon according to this archive. And that talking spider is supposed to be Dokugumon. According to this, both are champion level digimon and they're part of the Virus Busters and Nature Spirit families respectively."

"NO ONE CARES! HOW DO WE BEAT THEM!?" Matt snapped angrily, just as a ball of red fire shot over his head and destroyed a building behind them. He could feel the heat on the back of his neck and it seemed like some of his hairs were burned off. The blast encouraged Izzy to scroll faster and he read aloud, "It says here that both of them specialized against other insect type digimon like Kabuterimon. But they have innate fear of fire."

"And?" Matt was growing impatient with Izzy. The computer whiz rolled his eyes, "Matt! Garurumon shoots blue fire from his mouth!"

Matt looked at the fight as it played out before them – Angemon and Kabuterimon flew through the air while being pursued by the Snimon. Occasionally, they stopped to attack the digimon on the ground but they weren't able to get any hits. Garurumon ran among the Tyrannomon and Mammothmon, tackling them into the ground to stop their fighting. But they were too preoccupied with Angemon and Kabuterimon to notice one wolf running around, leaving the smaller digimon like Gazimon to attack him.

Dokugumon completely ignored the fighting, instead choosing to chase down the group that Mimi was with. But Togemon was nowhere in sight and they could only guess what terrible thing could have happened to her. Lagging just behind the group was a man, the father they rescued earlier that day. He had a gun with him, and firing wildly at the digimon that tried to attack him – the small Gazimon, Dokugumon, the Tyrannomon. The bullets did nothing to the giant digimon but the Gazimon dropped with each hit.

They hadn't even noticed the three of them standing just of sight, but Matt found it difficult to let Garurumon attack the digimon. Angemon and Kabuterimon were too busy fighting the monsters to protect TK. If anything went wrong, it would fall on Garurumon to do that. He knew he shouldn't baby his brother, but he found it hard to not do so. His mouth was open but the words wouldn't come out. TK was too important to say those words. But if he didn't, he'd condemn all those people to die.

"MATT!" Izzy said, looking at him anxiously. Matt closed his eyes and frowned, "I can't."

"Matt, come on!"

"I CAN'T!" Matt said, "Angemon and Kabuterimon are too far away to protect TK. Garurumon is the only one who can protect him!"

"Matt! You…GAH!" Izzy threw his hands up in frustration and began looking through his computer at a frantic pace. This was like Myotismon's castle again, Matt stayed back to protect TK instead of helping out his friends. Izzy didn't dwell on it and began looking through the files in hopes of finding something that could be used as a weakness. One that didn't rely on Garurumon. But there was nothing useful in the files: sleep patterns, eating habits, predatory behaviors, and more. Absolutely nothing useful. They were up against a spider, flying praying mantises, dinosaurs, mammoths, and endless bunny dog things. His mind briefly wandered to the thought of what the Gazimon were supposed to be, but he reminded himself that this wasn't the time.

He kept looking but was stumped. How were they supposed to beat a spider, dinosaurs, mammoths, and all the other digimon? How? He watched Dokugumon shoot out a web at one of the survivors and miss. A Gazimon chasing that survivor ran straight into the web and became raveled in the thread.

Then a light clicked in Izzy's head and he realized the solution was right in front of him. After all, Dokugumon was a spider. The ideas ran through his mind in rapid succession making sense in such a way that he had no choice but to act on it. He closed his laptop and ran out of cover to get his partner's attention, "Kabuterimon!"

"What?" his partner shouted as he whizzed by overhead, with the Snimon still in pursuit. Izzy pointed towards the spider and shouted, "Dokugumon! Get Dokugumon to attack you!"

Kabuterimon whizzed past again and shouted, "Because all the Snimon weren't enough!"

"It's a spider!" Izzy shouted out to his partner.

"I KNOW!" Kabuterimon declared while whizzing past again. Izzy groaned and shouted, "WEBS! MAKE IT SPIN A WEB!"

"Why would I…OH!" Kabuterimon whizzed by again and turned in the air towards Dokugumon. Kabuterimon flew over its head with the Snimon closing in on him, dodging and weaving through attacks. He could briefly see Dokugumon chewing on something but it was hard to tell with so many things happening at once.

"Hey! Dokugumon! Right here!" Kabuterimon taunted, "Why not eat something like me?"

Dokugumon spat whatever it was chewing on and growled at Kabuterimon, "YOU! Poison Thread!"

It shot out a sticky thread from its abdomen towards Kabuterimon, who narrowly dodged the attack. A Snimon that was trying to attack from behind was not as lucky, and found itself embroiled in the thread. It struggled to free itself but was unable to avoid slamming into the side of a building. Kabuterimon mocked the spider, "HA! Missed!"

"Try this!" Dokugumon fired three threads simultaneously, and Kabuterimon just barely managed to avoid them. A few more Snimon pursuing him collided with the threads and were wrapped up in cocoons. Kabuterimon mocked the spider, "You're really bad at this."

Dokugumon became angrier and it fired even more threads in greater number: first five, then ten, then twenty threads at the same time. Each time, Kabuterimon avoided the attacks and Dokugumon would grow more frustrated. The more shots it fired, the more erratic it became. Kabuterimon was able to weave through the flurry of shots, but the other digimon weren't as lucky. Many of the Snimon were caught in the web when Kabuterimon flew high, and the Tyrannomon and Mammothmon were entrapped if he flew low. Garurumon and Angemon were able to avoid getting caught by moving away – letting the numbers of Myotismon's army get caught in the mess Kabuterimon spun. As Izzy watched his idea play out perfectly before him, he felt a mix of pride and excitement. He was so caught up that he didn't notice his crest glow a soft purple, but it caught the attention of Matt and TK.

When most of Myotismon's army was caught, Izzy yelled out, "ALRIGHT KABUTERIMON! LET'S FINISH THIS!"

His digivice hummed to life and Kabuterimon was wrapped in light, "Kabuterimon! Digivolve to! MegaKabuterimon!"

His partner changed from blue to red and grew to a substantial size. He'd also grown a large red shell that protected his backside and carried a blue sphere at the apex of the shell. He was so large that he just barely squeezed into the street. His horn split with two prongs and crackled with sparks of electricity. The sparks arced along the ground and MegaKabuterimon slammed his horn on to the ground, "Horn Buster!"

The bolts sparked and traveled along the ground towards Myotismon's army. The current traveled through the Tyrannomon and Mammothmon, then along the strands of webbing towards Dokugumon and the Snimon caught in the web. Many Gazimon got lucky and avoided the current since they'd already fled but a few lingered and they danced as the current ran through their bodies. The electrical blast was so powerful that street lamps lit up and some of the lights in the nearby buildings came on. Every bulb simultaneously burst from being overloaded and the enemy digimon disintegrated to data. And with that it was over. The enemy digimon were defeated.

Ahead of them, they could see the police station and a line of police officers with riot shields out in front of them. Between them and the station was a street clear of monsters but littered with damage. Debris, destroyed cars, broken street lights and signs, bodies of the deceased, and more were scattered all along the street. There were some police cars parked as if to block the road, but most of them were flattened.

The three boys regrouped with their partners – Garurumon and Angemon regressed to their rookie forms and MegaKabuterimon regressed to Motimon at Izzy's request. As Izzy explained, appearing before the police as a giant insect might do more harm than good.

They hurried to meet the officers but stopped when they heard a soft groan come from a man who was missing his entire lower half. Matt instantly covered his brother's eyes when he saw the grotesque sight, but TK had already seen it and he screamed in horror, "Don't look TK!"

The man's insides poured out of his body, creating a bloody mess where his legs should have been. In his hand was gun that he could barely hold level. One glimpse and all six knew who he was. It was the father from the bridge; the man whose child Tamer had calmed down, whom Birdramon and Kabuterimon carried to safety from the damaged plane, and had argued with Tamer until the boy whispered something that had the officer complying.

Blood trickled from his mouth and out his nose as he lay there, staring blankly up at the sky. Izzy approached the man anxiously, and the man's eyes glanced briefly at him. He offered Izzy a weak smile. Some blood gurgled out of his mouth but he was able to talk through gasps for breath, "Tell…your friend…I saved…my son…"

"You mean Tamer?" Izzy asked. The man nodded and Izzy agreed, "We'll tell him."

"Thanks," was all the man said. Izzy sank to his knees and leaned in closer to the man. He looked like he was gasping for breath, but was having difficulty doing so. Motimon didn't say a word and looked on in shock while Izzy murmured, "I'm sorry. That this happened. It shouldn't have-"

"It hap…pens. I've been…officer…long time," the officer's eyes were focused on the sky now, or rather unfocused. But he pushed himself to talk anyway, "shit…happens. Tell wife…love her. Tell Cody…grow up…honest…and kind…and not…afraid."

Izzy nodded again and the officer laughed. The laugh turned to coughs as he hacked and wheezed blood. The man stopped and said, "It's…funny. Your friend…he said…said…"

Izzy suddenly leaned closer, "What did he say?"

The officer was silent and stared up vacantly at the cloudy sky. Izzy didn't need to be a medical expert to know he was gone. It was an odd experience, watching someone die right in front of you. On TV and in books, there was always some kind of drama around someone's death. It was always a heart breaking revelation about the fragility of life when someone died in fiction. But here, Izzy didn't feel anything but curiosity about what the man was going to say before he passed on – and what it must've been like to feel your body suddenly stop as all of its vital functions ceased. Could he feel his pulse fading as his heart stopped? Did he feel pain or was the shock of losing his lower half so great that his brain stopped processing it? Was he scared, angry, or sad? Was he okay with leaving his family behind? If Izzy and Motimon were to fail, would he be okay with leaving his family behind?

He felt a hard lump form in the back of his throat, one he had great difficulty swallowing. Without realizing it, he'd begun to hug Motimon close and his partner was doing the same. It wasn't out of grief, but out of a need to hold and be held. He didn't quite understand what he was feeling – he'd felt a sense of loss and defeat when Koromon Village was destroyed, and he'd felt the same when the manor was almost destroyed. But here, he wasn't certain he was feeling anything at all.

The computer whiz wondered if seeing so many digimon die in the Digital World had affected him more than he realized. He glanced back to see that Matt was already guiding TK away with Patamon and Gabumon. They met the police officers half way down the road, and Izzy ran to join them. He stopped after only a few steps to look back at the man he'd met on the bridge. He believed his name was Hida. Izzy tried not to dwell on the man's death and carried ahead to tell the man's family his last words.

* * *

Doctor Kido stitched the last of the boy's surgical openings shut and applied the bandages as he had to. Once the little boy was stable, he signaled for the nurse to disconnect the older brother's IV. They did a few more checks to make sure both boys were stable before moving from the OR to the Recovery Room. The staff did their post op checks, vitals, and blood work. The two brothers were put on beds beside one another; the older one constantly asked if the younger was okay, "He's fine, right? Kenny! Please say he's okay!"

He was tired and pale from the blood loss, but he still found the energy to talk. The doctor nodded, "Yes, he's fine. Unconscious but stable. You should rest, though. You gave him a lot of your blood."

"I just want…to be sure," the older brother looked over at the bed beside his. He relaxed once he saw his little brother's chest rise and fall. Doctor Kido helped the older boy lie back down in bed. Once he'd closed his eyes and slept, he instructed the nurses to keep monitoring them while he went back to work in the Emergency Room. He also added that they should call him if anything happens.

It was in the same general disarray that he'd left it, if worse due to the increased patient load. The waiting area was overflowing and staff had been called from the floors to help with the emergency room. Before he could even pick a chart and start looking at patients, one of the registration clerks approached him, "Doctor Kido, there's a couple who keep asking about two boys in the waiting area. I think they might be the parents of those two boys from earlier."

Doctor Kido looked at his watch to see how much time had passed, then agreed to go out and meet them. He had to make sure these were parents of the boys in recovery before he let them in. It helped that they were covered in dried blood that didn't look to be theirs when he met them. That was a good sign, as the youngest brother was a mess. It could've come from him. But he still had to be sure, "Hello, I'm Doctor Kido. I'm told you're looking for two boys?"

The mom answered first, "Yes! Two boys. They should have been brought here by this pixie thing. Our oldest Osamu was fine, but Ken was the one who was injured. There was glass and blood and…please tell me they're here."

Doctor Kido watched the woman start crying and asked, "We do have two boys here but not one named Osamu. I'll need to see some identification before I agree to let you in to see them."

"Right yeah," the dad produced a driver's license, as did the mom. The dad added, "Osamu sometimes goes by Sam. He prefers his nickname. He's a smart kid so he was probably trying to tell you how to do your job. Please say they're in there!"

Doctor Kido reviewed the information carefully. They had the same last name as the two boys and the information matched what the older brother provided. He handed them their cards and motioned for them to follow, "Yes. Follow me please."

He led them back into the recovery room, while informing the parents of what happened. He told them about the boys' arrival, the surgery to stop the younger brother's bleeding, the older brother locking himself in the blood bank and more. When he'd finished, the parents looked relieved and the dad sighed, "Yeah, that sounds like Sam. He was always a smart kid - a damn good genius at that. And he has to get himself involved in whatever is going on."

"Your boys are resting now," Doctor Kido explained, "Sam gave Ken a lot of his own blood, but both of them should be stable. I'll let you see them, but only for a little bit. They do need to get their rest."

He said those words just as they walked into recovery, where the nurses were now gathered around the older brother's bed. Doctor Kido raced forward and asked the charge nurse, "What's going on?"

"He stopped breathing. We're trying to resuscitate him now!" the nurse explained.

"What happened to our boys!?" the mom asked in a panic. One of the nurses tried to escort them back out, but they protested and insisted on staying. Doctor Kido left it alone and took charge of the situation, "Okay start a rotation! We'll swap out every three minutes. And get some O Negative from the blood bank! We-"

"They're out! They've been out of blood for a while!" another nurse said, "We have some staff donating in there now, but they said it'll be a while before anything is ready."

"Dammit. Okay keep trying. I'll take over compressions in the next minute, then we'll cycle out," Doctor Kido said to the nurse, "We have to buy him as much time as we can!

"You don't have a lot of it," said a ghastly voice. The lights in the recovery room flickered and staff backed away when they saw a ghastly figure in robes and wielding a scythe appear. It had one had firmly around the boy's neck, "In case you're wondering, yes, I am choking him. That's why he's stopped breathing. I've been doing so for about a minute because I wanted your full attention when you came back."

"Who are you?" Doctor Kido asked. The phantasm bowed, "I am Phantomon. I have been instructed to…acquire you. Your son or daughter, whomever it is, is causing us a great deal of trouble and we want your cooperation. Now, as a doctor, I understand you'll have a compulsion to help everyone and act for the greater good."

The phantasm tightened his grip on the boy's neck, "But I want you to understand this: I can and will kill everyone in this hospital if you don't cooperate. Starting with these two brothers."

Doctor Kido looked as the unconscious Sam who looked to be in pain from choking. The way this day was going, the hospital would only flood with more patients. It would be a blood bath if this specter decided to start attacking. But, the doctor felt a brief glimmer of pride. Joe must be giving the digital monsters a hard time if they were desperate enough to go for loved ones. Doctor Kido nodded at the charge nurse, "You're in charge."

Then he addressed the specter, "I'll go with you, if you agree to leave the hospital alone."

"I accept your terms," Phantomon cackled, releasing Sam so that the boy gasped for air. Phantomon was on the doctor quickly and the lights flickered again. When the lights turned back on, Doctor Kido was gone and the nurses went to work taking care of the older brother. He was breathing now, but his pulse was thready at best. The lack of air and the lack of blood might have been taking its toll on his body. They would have to be careful if they wanted to keep him alive.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** The parents are captured. The body count is rising. Tamer's managing to overcome the headaches, but situation across the city is getting worse. Can he find time to make more puns? Will the digidestined stopped Myotismon? Find out in one week on Friday, June 24th at 5 PM CST during the next installment of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure. If you loved it, let me know in the review section. I usually reply in a day or two. I also welcome constructive criticism and speculation on the next chapter. Now! Lines from the next chapter:

"HE'S GOING FOR MIMI!"

Then Myotismon said something they didn't anticipate, "Tell me where the eighth child is and all of this will stop."

"I think it's pronounced car," Pumpkinmon pointed out.

"Eh, I don't really want to fight. Do whatever you want but I'm going," Gotsumon shrugged.

"Tai! You can't just blow up the apartment! We live there!" Kari's mom shouted at him.


	30. Breaking Point

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hello all you happy readers! Thanks for coming down to read the latest chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure. A big thanks to all the readers who favorited, left a review, and followed the story! I'm thrilled with all the readers this story has gained. I'd also like to thank Ace Spiritwell for creating the cover art for this story. Give their fan fiction profile and deviant art account a look. I'm still trying to figure out how to get the links to the fan art to show in my profile, but I'm not sure why it doesn't show. A word of warning for this chapter: the downward spiral will continue and we'll see Myotismon at his cruelest. Reader discretion advised. Final thing: guest reviews have been moved to the bottom with the post-author's notes.

Okay! On with the next chapter!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 30: Breaking Point**

Myotismon glided over the streets of the human city called Tokyo, admiring the chaos his army spread as they slaughtered anyone in their path. Some tried to fight back but they may as well have laid down on a silver platter for all the resistance they offered. Bodies littered the streets and buildings crumbled before the strength of his soldiers, yet something felt amiss. This all felt too easy – while he was no stranger to the thrill of war, the lack of any real challenge made this seem less like a battle and more like a sport. Perhaps he'd overestimated the humans the way he'd overestimated the digidestined. He took some solace at watching Wizardmon struggle against his captors while Gatomon watched in stunned silence, without any desire to fight. They were held captive by Bakemon and tied by chains to keep them from trying to escape, although Gatomon wasn't making any effort.

At that moment, several of his servant Bakemon appeared carrying humans bound by ropes and gagged to silence them – the parents of the children he'd fought. A quick head count made him realize that they were short some parents. Without hesitation, Myotismon struck down one of the Bakemon and demanded the rest explain why there were so few. The Bakemon shook while they offered their excuses – apparently these were the ones they could find, even with the guidance of his bats. Myotismon's eyes narrowed and he considered striking them down for their failure, then relented. He didn't need all the parents to achieve his ends. Wizardmon and Gatomon had already provided the location of the last child. No, his plan for the parents and the digidestined were much worse.

* * *

Lillymon flew over the city in search of Mimi and the Ichijouji family. She went back the same direction she came, but it was hard to navigate through the thick fog. Along the way, she continued to run into other flying digimon: Bakemon, Snimon, and bats. Lots and lots of bats. She couldn't make heads or tails of why there were so many flying around in the middle of the day, but she could hazard a guess. Myotismon was nearby and that made it all the more important for her to find Mimi.

Her wings kicked up speed and the flower digimon dove low for the ground. The streets were surprisingly clear of danger but signs of the work of Myotismon's followers were plain to see. Lillymon put that out of her mind and continued on her search. Then she heard a sound she didn't expect to hear – a car driving at high speed along the streets with its engine roaring as loud as it could.

Lillymon followed the sound to a red car racing along the sidewalk to get around stopped traffic. Atop it were two digimon: a Gotsumon and a Pumpkinmon – a doll like digimon with a jack-o'-lantern where its head should have been. The two digimon giggled excitedly as the car swerved to throw them off, but the two refused to let go. The Gotsumon banged on the ceiling and declared, "Come on! We just want a ride!"

"Yeah! Let us have a go at the wheel! Or at least let us in!" Pumpkinmon cried out jealously. The two rocked the car back and forth while the driver continued racing along the sidewalk. When the antics of the two digimon riding atop it caused the car to nearly crash into another car, Lillymon thought it was time to intervene. She swooped in low and yanked the two digimon off the car roof, "KNOCK IT OFF!"

The two yelped in surprise as Lillymon dragged them through the air and threw them into the side of a building. The car screeched to a halt, and Lillymon could see the driver look back at them before carrying on at high speed. Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon were on their feet right away, "Hey! What gives? We only wanted a ride!"

"Yeah! We've never had a change to drive a 'cair' before!" Gotsumon added, "It looks like fun!"

"I think it's pronounced car," Pumpkinmon pointed out. Gotsumon blinked and countered, "But it has an 'a' in it. Why would they say car if it has an 'a'? Wouldn't you pronounce it 'cair'?"

"I think they pronounce it two ways," Pumpkinmon mused, scratching the part of his head where the axe buried itself.

"Human languages are stupid," the two digimon said together, completely ignoring Lillymon. She tightened her hands into fists and shouted, "Hey! You two can't go around destroying Tokyo and get away with it! I'll stop you two myself!"

"Eh, I don't really want to fight. Do whatever you want but I'm going," Gotsumon shrugged, "Hey Pumpkinmon! I think I saw an ice cream shop back there!"

"Me too! We should definitely go!" Pumpkin smiled as the two digimon turned to leave. Lillymon stamped her foot on the ground and flew ahead to block their path, "I'm not letting you go anywhere!"

"Why? Don't you like ice cream?" Gotsumon asked curiously, "I think she hates ice cream."

"What's wrong with ice cream? Is it that you've never tried any? It's really good! You should come with us and get some!" Pumpkinmon invited her cheerfully with an extended hand. The genuinely innocent smile on these two digimon's faces threw her off, "You guys…aren't trying to hurt anyone?"

The two looked at each other and laughed. Through the laughter, Pumpkinmon explained, "Why would we do that? It's dumb. And the one you're trying to hurt never stops screaming. It's annoying."

"So you have hurt people before!" Lillymon accused the two of them. The two stopped laughing and the air between them became more serious. Gotsumon explained, "Nah, but when you work the cleanup in Master Myotismon's dungeons for a thousand years, you sort of lose interest in that kind of stuff. Besides! We're in another world now! There's so much to see and do! Well, when Myotismon isn't yelling orders at us, I mean. Then we have to do it."

"Yeah! Boy, when he wants you to do something, you'd better do it. DemiDevimon found that out the hard way," Pumpkinmon's tone became anxious, "Nobody knows what happened to him. We haven't seen him since, though."

"You don't want to do what he says?" Lillymon asked.

"Most of us don't. There are some who are on his side, either cause they're just as crazy or because he's mind controlling them," Gotsumon explained, "But most of us just go along with it and hope he doesn't decide he's in a bad mood."

"It's not like we can do anything about it either," Pumpkinmon frowned, "This one time, a bunch of us tried to unionize – y'know, get more breaks and better work conditions. Y'know what he did? He fired them!"

Lillymon crossed her arms in disbelief – Myotismon released his followers from servitude so it didn't make sense for them to not just do the same, "Well that doesn't sound too bad."

"No, he literally _fired_ them. He set them all on fire and made the rest of us watch as an example. I think that messed up Gatomon worse than the rest of us," Pumpkin shuddered as he recalled the events. Lillymon blinked but retained enough composure to appear unfazed while Gotsumon added, "Honestly, I'd rather go home and play games with friends."

"I don't believe it. Are there other digimon like that in Myotismon's group?" Lillymon asked them excitedly, "Anyone else who doesn't want to serve him?"

"Probably. If there are any, they don't go around talking about it. Myotismon doesn't put up with guys who aren't loyal," Gotsumon said quietly, "Are we done talking? That ice cream isn't going to eat itself."

"Wait! Come with me! If you two don't want to serve Myotismon, then maybe there are others who don't want to either! Think about it! You'd be free to do whatever you want and you'd never have to worry about him again!" Lillymon said to the two digimon, who were too busy discussing the ice cream they were about to have to notice anything she was saying to them, "Hey! Listen!"

The two digimon stared at her. Gotsumon's eyes narrowed, "I don't know why but I had a sudden urge to beat you senseless when you said that."

"A fairy should never shout 'Hey' or 'Listen'," Pumpkinmon added. Lillymon stepped away from the two as they leered. Gotsumon was a rookie level so he would've been easy to beat, but Pumpkinmon was an ultimate like her. There was no telling what kind of strength he had within his small and unassuming form. But she tried reasoning with them anyway, "Look. I know two digimon who are working against him. They're even trying to help us! It's Wizardmon and Gatomon! You could join us like they did!"

"Wizardmon _and_ Gatomon?" Gotsumon repeated with a raised eyebrow, "Maybe you haven't noticed, but those two are his most loyal servants. They would never even think about it!"

"They would! I know because they told us so! Better than that, Gatomon is the Eighth digimon partner!" Lillymon said excitedly, "And I bet you that there are more digimon out there like you! We just have to convince them! Together, we can beat Myotismon!"

"I don't know. How do we know this isn't a trick?" Pumpkinmon scratched his chin. Lillymon answered, "I'm being totally sincere! Come with us! We can fight him!"

The two digimon looked like they were thinking it over and she anticipated their answers anxiously. Then Pumpkinmon said, "It would be nice to goof off all we wanted. Okay, we're in!"

Lillymon punched the air in joy, "Alright!"

"But first, ice cream!" Gotsumon added.

Lillymon sighed in exasperation. Then she noticed something off about Pumpkinmon – a small red dot on his forehead. The dot moved from his forehead to the ground before him. A loud bang echoed from down the street behind her, and Lillymon spun around to see two humans running towards them. A woman holding a gun like the police from before and a man holding a peculiar sword which he looked ready to swing. Both wore green combat vests with a leaf imprinted on the left breast pocket. Not wanting things to get messy, Lillymon grabbed the two smaller digimon and flew into the sky, "Let's go!"

"But our ice cream!" Gotsumon whined. As they took off, Lillymon could hear the humans behind her talking.

"It's not like you to fire a warning shot Kino."

"Shizu, there wouldn't have been much to gain from killing them. It's not like they leave a body to be eaten."

Lillymon swallowed as she thought on what these two humans could have been planning – casually talking about eating when the city was in chaos. She didn't want to stay around to find out. It seemed the humans could be just as surprising and unpredictable as the digimon working for Myotismon. She never would have guessed that there would be more of them who didn't want to work for him. And she never would have guessed she'd meet two humans who want to eat others. All the same, the fact that these two could be like Wizardmon and Gatomon – and that there were more digimon like them - could be the thing that helped them turn the tide of this fight.

* * *

Sora, Joe, Gomamon, Biyomon, Kari, Agumon, Tamer, and the two mothers quickly moved to the apartment building across the street. They carried a few things that the Kamiyas needed: bags of clothes, some documents that Sora's mom held onto so that Tamer couldn't throw them out, a pillowcase full of money that Kari's mom kept hidden beneath the mattress, and some of the pictures off the wall. Tamer was the last one out, cradling Miko in his arms while they hurried across the now empty street. Kari's mom carried the little girl over, making sure to bury the girl's face in her chest so that she wouldn't see the bodies and the destruction. That did little to remedy the smell of burning flesh and metal. Kari naturally asked what the smell was and her mother insisted upon her to keep her eyes closed.

They took refuge in an apartment unit on the fourth floor whose door was left wide open. It was left in a state of disarray; cabinets and drawers hung open, and the closet was half empty. Whoever lived there had the same idea they did and decided to flee. However, they'd left behind their pictures and photographs – all of them showing a young couple with a newborn. Once they were inside, Kari's mom rested the little girl on the couch and asked her to lie there. Joe fetched the sickly girl some water to drink. Sora's mother searched the apartment for any other exit points while Sora and Biyomon stood guard. Tamer locked the door and started barricading it with anything he could find, "This'll do, now that they can't get in!"

"Yeah, and we can't get out. What's the plan here?" Joe asked sarcastically. The goggle headed boy moved chairs, tables, and anything else in reach in the door's path while explaining, "We watch and wait. I left the gas on in your apartment and jerry rigged the toaster to the door. Anyone goes in there ready to attack, and they'll get blown sky high."

"I don't think you've thought this through. Myotismon isn't going to go in there, is he? And what if he sends Gatomon and Wizardmon, first?" Agumon asked. Tamer stopped stacking chairs long enough to stare off into space and mouth, "Huh, good point. Well, we're worry about it when it happens. But I don't think he'd send Wizardmon first."

"Why?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Tai! You can't just blow up the apartment! We live there!" Kari's mom shouted at him, "I'm going back! I'm not letting you blow up our home and I'm not letting you run up my gas bill!"

"There is an army of rampaging digimon on the loose and you're worried about paying off your gas bill," Agumon commented, watching the two fight over the barricade. Every time Tamer placed something down, Kari's mom moved it aside. Then Tamer would put it back and she would move it away again. Kari giggled slightly from the couch, amused by their interaction. She wondered if this is how her mother and Tai would've been like if he'd never 'died'.

"Look, I hate to ruin this, but your mom has a point. We're not exactly ground level. There's nowhere for us to go if they find out we're up here!" Joe pointed out to the two of them. The two stopped bickering long enough for Gomamon to peek out the window and comment, "That's a long way down and you're blocking the only exit."

"Well, the plan is to be nearby when Myotismon shows up with Wizardmon and Gatomon," Tamer said quietly. Sora blinked, "Wait, I thought you said they were captured! Or they would be!"

"And Myotismon is going to use them to bait us," Tamer said wearily, "When they show up, he'll be nearby. He'll wait for us to go out to them, then he'll strike. If we don't, he'll storm the apartment over there."

"How do you know that?" Sora asked. Tamer shrugged, "It's what I'd do if I were him."

"I thought you knew how things are supposed to play out?" Joe stated to him. Tamer ran a hand through his hair, "Not everything. Just the key events. I know we're supposed to beat him and Kari here will be the reason why. I don't know what the hell is-"

"Tai! Language!" Kari's mom scolded. Tamer stopped barricading the front door, and took a step back, "Huh. Deja vu. That was…really…"

He dropped everything and ran straight for kitchen sink. He retched and heaved so loudly that Kari felt more sick just listening to it. When he finally stopped, he sank to his knees and fell backwards on to the ground. He clutched at his head and whimpered, requiring Agumon to tend to him again. Although he was more sarcastic than comforting, "How did you throw up? We haven't eaten anything in two days! What have you thrown up?"

"Can't," Tamer mumbled, "Sick..."

"What's happened now?" Biyomon asked curiously, watching the boy seemingly shake in pain. He glanced at her briefly and mouthed the word, "Death."

He passed out before he could explain any further.

* * *

Izzy and Motimon walked past the cadre of police officers going out into the street to search for survivors or anyone who needed help. As he walked by them, he heard them murmuring about where the angel had gone and the miracle it had been for it to show up – though they remained steadfast in case more monsters appeared. Izzy noticed that a few of them were eyeing Motimon wearily and whispered to his partner to keep quiet. The pair rejoined Matt, TK, Patamon, and Gabumon – and found them talking to Mimi about where she'd run off to. Mimi told them about trying to find a little girl's family, then of another family whose son was gravely injured. She added that Togemon had digivolved to Lillymon, her ultimate form to beat back the two attacking digimon.

Additionally, it seemed that the girl Mimi was protecting had found her sister among the survivors in the police. Davis and Jun were with their parents who were lecturing them on wandering off at the park, as well as hugging their two kids for coming back in one piece. They looked like they'd gotten their happy ending, which brought the conversation back to Mimi.

"Wait! You mean your crest activated? No way!" Matt exclaimed in surprise.

"That so cool! I'm happy for you Mimi!" TK added cheerily. Gabumon and Patamon looked at her enviously, wondering if and when they would finally reach the ultimate level. Although, it could have been discomfort from having to refrain from talking and having to lay still like dolls. Izzy nodded his agreement but refrained from mentioning Motimon's Ultimate form, "Congratulations Mimi."

"Thanks," Mimi said sheepishly. Izzy didn't get the chance to see her face since she averted her eyes, "So what did she look like? Lillymon didn't just look like a bigger version of Togemon, did she? I mean, MegaKabuterimon ended up just being a bigger Kabuterimon."

"Oh yeah! MegaKabuterimon was so cool! It only took him one hit to beat all the bad guys! He was so strong!" TK said excitedly, earning them some uneasy looks from the people around them. Matt covered his mouth, "Not so loud TK."

Mimi nodded, "What? Izzy! You mean that your crest worked too?"

"Yeah. We were outnumbered, but that spider you brought with you helped us out," Izzy said, recounting to her his idea and how Kabuterimon was able to figure it out. He wasn't sure what the look on Mimi's face was but he thought it was silent awe. It lit up into a smile when he finished, "That was real smart Izzy! Way to go!"

Izzy averted his eyes, "Th-thanks."

She sighed, "I just wish I would've seen it."

"It's alright. Who knows? I may get to digivolve again!" Motimon grinned playfully.

Mimi sighed, "I wanted you guys to see Lillymon! She was so pretty too, with her dress that looked like a flower and her fairy wings!"

"So where is she? I think we'd all like to see Lillymon for ourselves," Matt said. Mimi glanced up the street, "The last time I saw her, she went to take a boy and his brother to the hospital. He got hurt when this Mammothmon threw a car at a store. Their parents followed after them, and I haven't heard anything since. Then Yolei and I hid in this café where we met a bunch of other people. Even that Cody kid and his family! Oh right! What happened to his dad? He was right behind us!"

"He didn't make it," Izzy said quietly, glancing back down the street. He watched the police marking bodies and already drawing plans to move them out of the way. To no one's surprise, there were no survivors out in the street. More people emerged from the buildings, survivors who hid inside when the rampaging started. The officers made a show of crowding around the more disfigured bodies to make sure the survivors didn't see the carnage. It was too depressing to look back down that direction and see all the destruction Myotismon's army wrought, but ahead they could see the people who had taken shelter inside the police station start to come out. Some officers tried to urge them back inside, saying that they still weren't sure if it was safe. But one got past, a small boy, "Daddy! Where's daddy!?"

It was Cody, coming back out in search of his father. He ran straight into the digidestined and asked, "It's you! You were there with Mothra! Have you seen my daddy!?"

Motimon wanted to say something about the Mothra comment but Izzy covered his mouth before he could say anything else. The four digidestined looked down at little Cody, unable to answer. At his age, he couldn't interpret their silence for knowing the answer. Rather, he decided it meant that they didn't know and he decided to ask someone else. Until his mom caught him by the collar of his shirt, "Cody! We have to go back inside! It's not safe."

"But daddy! Where's daddy?" the little boy cried. His mom picked him up, "Daddy's doing his job, honey. Let's go back inside and wait."

As hard as it was to say, Izzy thought that not telling them would be worse. Before either Cody or hid mom could argue with each other, Izzy spoke up, "I'm sorry he's not coming. He…he didn't make it."

"Wha…what?" Cody's mom fell silent, but Cody continued looking at him quizzically, "Daddy! You know what happened to daddy! Where is he!? Why can't he come?"

Although the little boy was only asking, Izzy felt like the boy was blaming him for it. Izzy spoke slowly but deliberately, choosing his words with care to not hit them any harder than he already had. It seemed an impossible task – but he tried anyway, "We didn't see how it happened. He did want you to know…he loved you. He also said Cody should be strong and brave. Not scared."

"I don't get it. Where's daddy!? I want to see daddy!" Cody started to bawl, "Where is he!?"

His mother sank to her knees to hug her son. She had her arms wrapped around him and her face buried into hist chest. She wanted to hide it from her son, but the sobs gave it all away. Mimi tried to consul them, "He did what he thought he had to, to protect you guys."

The mother shook her head, distraught and whimpering but still able to communicate, "That friend of yours…the one with the goggles…what did he say? WHAT THE HELL DID HE SAY!?"

The digidestined were startled by the sudden outburst as the woman continued to cry, "Where is he? I want to know…I want to know what he said to Hiroki to make him do…this!"

"We don't know," Izzy paused between sentences, and feelings his eyes start to mist, "I asked. He didn't tell me in time."

"I would think that the answer would've been obvious, digidestined," the cackling voice of Myotismon said just behind Izzy. A sudden chill ran up his back to make his hair stand on end, and the boy hopped away from the voice. The others jumped too, and they wheeled around to face him. Standing just behind them in his bloodied clothes was Myotismon with a blood drunk glare that could kill. His mouth twisted into a vile smirk, showing his sharpened fangs dripping with fresh blood. The police were caught off guard by his sudden arrival, and quickly surrounded him with their guns while the survivors rushed back inside the station. This only widened his smirk and he repeated the words Tamer said not too long ago, "Pardon my appearance. Point your weapons at me if it'll make you relax! The blood of this world called to me, and I couldn't resist. It's so fresh. Even now, I hear its sweet song. It makes me ravenous. Who should I feast on next?"

Myotismon looked behind him at several of the police officers keeping their weapons on him, and his smile widened. With a grunt, Myotismon remarked to the digidestined, "You'd think they would realize it'd go much faster if they were to lie down and die."

"Put your hands on your head and get on the ground!" one of the officers shouted at Myotismon. Myotismon's smile vanished. In a swift and sudden motion, he grabbed the officer and ascended high into the sky disappearing into the fog. The officer screamed and fired a few shots from his gun, but the other police were unable to do anything. They couldn't shoot wildly into the fog without risking hurting their own.

The silence was maddening as he could come from anywhere at any time.

The digidestined looked at their partners anxiously – they had to act but it would be dangerous to do anything with the police waving guns around.

Then Myotismon's cackling laughter echoed through the fog, "DIGIDESTINED! YOU'VE GONE ALONG WITH THE TAMER'S INTENTIONS. YOU DID THIS KNOWING YOU GAMBLED WITH THE LIVES OF OTHERS! AND WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SHOW FOR IT? A CITY IN RUINS! HUNDREDS DEAD! EVEN MORE MISSING OR INJURED! BUT YOU STILL RESIST. IT SEEMS THE RISKS AREN'T ENOUGH TO COMPEL YOU. SO LET'S RAISE THE STAKES AND SEE WHERE YOU STAND WHEN IT'S THE ONES YOU LOVE AT RISK."

The fog cleared around them just to the end of the block, so that they could see around them more clearly. And it revealed several Bakemon holding Wizardmon and Gatomon hostage, who both looked equally worse for wear. TK pointed them out, "Wizardmon and Gatomon!"

"It looks like they were captured," Izzy frowned, "And there's…NO!"

Just behind them were more Bakemon holding their parents tied with ropes and gagged with cloth to keep them from talking. TK and Matt's mom, Izzy's parents, Mimi's parents, and a couple that no one recognized but vaguely resembled Joe. They each called out for their parents in shock, and their parents could be seen struggling against their bonds in vain. Any desire the digidestined had to intervene disappeared.

"MOM!" the two brothers said at the same time.

"Mom! Dad!" Izzy called out to his parents while Mimi could only utter, "No! No!"

"Who's that?" Gabumon asked quietly, pointing at the two unknown parents. Motimon put his head to the side, "She kind of looks like Joe."

"No way! He has Joe's mom too!?" Patamon said aloud, startling the police around them. The situation spiraled further out of control before their very eyes and the police trained their guns between Myotismon and TK. Matt jumped in their path, "Don't shoot!"

Myotismon jeered as he watched their expressions twist in despair, "For the sake of informing the humans too stupid to know what's going on: those children before you were the ones chosen to protect your miserable world. When provided the chance to stop me, they chose to let me live because 'I wasn't supposed to die yet'. Now, here we are – with your city destroyed, countless dead, and more devastation waiting to be wrought. All the same, I am one for a challenge and I can show mercy when appropriate."

The sound of his voice was commanding and drew the attention of everyone. Almost as if he had them in a trance. For the digidestined, it was like watching the Tamer whenever he decided to mock the other digimon they'd fought – Etemon and his followers, Datamon, and the digimon at the coliseum. In each case, the digimon he went up against were left fumbling their words and too scared to actually attack. They wanted to stop him before he said anything else, but were too terrified to do anything. Then Myotismon said something they didn't anticipate, "Tell me where the eighth child is and all of this will stop."

"Wh-what?" Matt stumbled over the words.

"He's not," Izzy commented in disbelief. Motimon looked up at his partner curiously, "I don't get it. What's he talking about?"

"Perhaps I should make myself more clear. I have most of your parents here. Not all of them, but enough. Tell me where to find the eighth child before I kill them all. It's obvious an example has to be made for you to understand," Myotismon glided through the air towards their parents and mused to himself, "Where to start? Where to start? I know! Let's begin with the weakest links. The brothers who bring 'hope' and 'friendship'. Except there's so many issues with them that it'd be a miracle if they ever could."

He stopped at TK and Matt's mom. Myotismon brushed her cheek and made a show of his bloodied fangs to her. She tried to pull away, but Myotismon slapped her in response. TK gasped, "MOM!"

"Leave her alone you jerk!" Matt screamed at the top of his lungs. Both Patamon and Gabumon leapt off their partners' arms – ready to attack but stopped when they saw the police point their guns at them, "Those things are alive?"

"Wait! Don't shoot!" Gabumon said while he threw up his hands. Patamon stopped in midair – wanting to stop Myotismon but too terrified to move.

"See? The confusion and terror spreads! Let's make it more interesting! You have until I get to the count of five to tell me where the eighth child is. One!"

"NO!" TK shouted. It was obvious to everyone that the boy was ready to crack - to tell him where Kari was. But doing so would ruin everything. The pressure of their situation was affecting him and he started to stream tears, "MOM!"

"TWO!" Myotismon cackled.

"Gabumon! Digivo-" Matt stopped himself when some of the officers moved their guns on him, "Stop right there! Don't move!"

He had no idea how to answer that question and having a gun in his face was making it hard to think.

"THREE!"

"Wait! Don't shoot! We're trying to help!" Izzy pleaded with the officers, who were completely unimpressed with anything he had to say.

"FOUR!"

"Flower Cannon!"

A blast of yellow light struck Myotismon from behind. It knocked him forward but not out of the air, and startled him more than injured him. He glanced behind him and saw Lillymon beeline towards him, "GET AWAY FROM THEM!"

"Yeah! Get him Lillymon!" Mimi cheered excitedly, breaking the nervous tension that grappled the group. TK gaped in awe, "No way! That's Lillymon!"

"What's this? Another one reached the Ultimate level! How quaint," Myotismon said with a mocking smile. The two traded blows, but only Lillymon was thrown back. She caught herself in the air and grew vines from her hands. With a flick of her wrists, the vines danced from the sleeves of her dress to wrap around Myotismon, "Flower Wreath!"

The Bakemon moved to attack but Myotismon nodded at them to stay where they were. Lillymon tightened the vines and demanded, "Let them go!"

Myotismon smiled, "I'm truly disappointed Lillymon. Is this all you have?"

"No! I also have this!" Lillymon grunted, twisting her body around with all her might to throw Myotismon into a nearby building. He crashed through the wall and disappeared inside, leading to cheers from the digidestined. Motimon looked at the officers, distracted by Lillymon arrival and said, "Now's our chance! Let's go!"

"Us too!" Patamon and Gabumon said. The three digimon charged ahead as their partner's digivices hummed to life.

"Motimon! Digivolve to! Tentomon!"

"Gabumon! Digivolve to! Garurumon!"

"Tentomon! Digivolve to! Kabuterimon!"

"Patamon! Digivolve to! Angemon!"

"Kabuterimon! Digivolve to! MegaKabuterimon!"

The three digimon appeared in flashes of light, and dashed past the officers in a hurried pace. The police were startled and moved out of the way once they saw the monsters. Especially when they saw Angemon among the three now charging towards the Bakemon. The Bakemon remained where they were, unflinching in the face of the partner digimon.

"LET THEM GO!" MegaKabuterimon shouted.

"SHADOW SCYTHE!" Phantomon appeared through the fog and swung his scythe on the large insect digimon. MegaKabuterimon's large form wasn't as swift as his champion level, and his larger body made him a big target for the attack. Phantomon hit his mark, but left no physical damage on the insect digimon – instead MegaKabuterimon barreled straight into Phantomon and threw him straight into the fog, "Out of my way! Grah!"

Then he faltered. The ultimate level digimon staggered and crashed into the street with enough force to punch a hole in the pavement. Izzy called out to his partner, "MegaKabuterimon! What's wrong!?"

"I don't know," MegaKabuterimon's voice was weak, and he struggled to get up, "I feel drained."

"That's my Shadow Scythe," Phantomon reemerged, "I don't attack the body. I attack the soul. You'll recover soon, but it'd be best to surrender before-"

Phantomon was hit by a beam of white holy light from Angemon, "Hand of Fate!"

The ultimate level took the hit, but was hurt much worse than compared to MegaKabuterimon's own physical attack. In fact, Phantomon's shriek was so loud that there was no way to believe he wasn't in true pain. Phantomon winced at them, "How?"

"Angemon's a Holy type digimon," Izzy stated, "And if I had to guess, that would make you a Nightmare Soldier type. If the data Tamer gave us is correct, you are naturally weak against his type."

"Now stand aside. I won't let you harm TK or Matt's mom. Or any of the others," Angemon said. Phantomon's glare sharpened and he raised his scythe again. He addressed Izzy when he talked, "Well aren't you the smart one. You are Knowledge, huh?"

"What's that?" Izzy asked.

"Never you mind," Phantomon addressed Angemon next, "Rescue their families, if you so wish. Myotismon ordered us not to harm them anyway. I'm going to finish the bug first!"

Phantomon went straight for MegaKabuterimon, still on the ground and trying to pick himself back up. Izzy shouted at his partner to get out of the way but MegaKabuterimon could barely move. Angemon dove down and the two of them met each other just above MegaKabuterimon, staff meeting scythe with a metallic clang. Angemon told the digimon, "You can't win, Phantomon."

"Then maybe you'd like a challenge!" another digimon leapt from the fog. This one was almost as humanoid as Angemon or Myotismon but dressed only in leather pants and chains. The rest of his body was exposed, except for a metallic mask covering his face and blue fire that came from his head. The newcomer leapt at Angemon, but the holy digimon move out of his path and watched the attacker break the ground, "Another servant of darkness?"

"I am SkullMeramon," the digimon introduced itself with a grunt, "Master Myotismon told me not interfere, but I could never say no to a good fight – especially against a strong enemy!"

SkullMeramon and Phantomon started fighting Angemon while MegaKabuterimon tried to balance himself. Phantomon focused on trying to get MegaKabuterimon while SkullMeramon fought Angemon, but the angel proved fast enough to take care of both. As the fight spread, the police backed away; one of the commanders told them to let the monsters fight it out, and to engage only if they came to close. Garurumon went to join them but stopped when Matt shouted, "Garurumon! Hang back!"

"What? Again? Why?" Garurumon growled, stopping just shy of entering the fight. Matt said, "Make sure the fighting doesn't come back this way!"

"Matt! You can't be serious! Angemon needs my help!" Garurumon observed the fight spreading around them. The digidestined watched as Lillymon's life was choked out of her.

Angemon was doing his best to hold off SkullMeramon and protect MegaKabuterimon. There was no denying that the champion level angel could hold his own against either of his opponents individually, but he was having a lot of difficulty against them at the same time. And he was slowing down from fatigue. Above, Lillymon continued her one sided fight against Myotismon – knocking him around and throwing him into buildings with all her strength. But none of the attacks injured him no matter how hard she tried. In fact, he looked almost bored with the fight as he corrected himself in the air after her last kick, "Are you done?"

"I'm just getting started!" Lillymon brought her hands together to form another cannon, "Flower Cannon!"

Myotismon caught the beam of energy in his hand, and wistfully threw it aside into another building, "Pathetic."

Then he was on her, wrapping his hands around her neck to strangle her. Mimi screamed for her partner as she struggled to breathe, and Myotismon's smile widened, "Can you feel it? The life leaving your body? How powerless you truly are? How meaningless your efforts have all been? Don't you understand yet? You cannot win!"

"Yes they can! Pumpkinmon Power!" A giant pumpkin appeared over Myotismon and fell onto his head. Myotismon wiped away the pieces of pumpkin on his face but continued strangling Lillymon. Once he got the last of it off, he turned to see his attackers – Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon standing on the street below. Myotismon bore his fangs, "So, you decide to turn on me as well?"

"We're tired of working for you!" Gotsumon declared, then pointed at the Bakemon, "And we know you are too! Fight with us! Together, we don't have to do anything he says anymore! We can be free! To eat ice cream and explore and do whatever else we want!"

The Bakemon looked at each other anxiously, enticed by the idea of freedom. Myotismon's scowl kept them in line, "Such interesting ideas. Tell me, who put these ideas in your mind? Would you rather be a slave to the destiny preordained by a dead race and their prophecies, or follow me to freedom from a damned existence? I will forgive this sleight if you forget these delusions! I will lead you to true freedom!"

"That's not freedom! That's worse than that other thing you said!" Pumpkinmon hissed at Myotismon, "We've been working for you for years and all we got out of it were beatings and watching our friends die! Gotsumon and I aren't taking it anymore! We quit!"

Gotsumon looked at the Bakemon, "Come on! You guys have got to be tired of this too! Just look at Gatomon and Wizardmon! They were his most loyal servants, and he tortured them anyway!"

"Excuse me! What do you mean most loyal?" Phantomon took offense to the assertion. The Bakemon were murmuring to themselves, giving consideration to a chance to leave. Izzy blinked to make sure they were seeing this right. The fact that they were talking about it meant they wanted to. Which meant they could be reasoned with. He chimed in, "The Digimon Tamer himself said it! It has to happen! Myotismon loses! You don't have to listen to him!"

Myotismon looked from Izzy then to the two defectors, then to Lillymon, "I see. The digidestined. This one wasn't here and came later. If she…yes, I see. So she put the idea in your head! SHE TRIED TO TURN YOU AGAINST ME!"

Lillymon gasped as Myotismon tightened his grip on her neck. She choked and gagged, gasping desperately for air, until both Gotsumon and Pumpkinmon hit him again with his attacks. The second blow loosened his grip and Lillymon fell to ground, landing on top of MegaKabuterimon. That last blow was enough to finish MegaKabuterimon – and the two returned to their In-Training forms. Mimi called out to her partner and dashed past the police line to her, "Tanemon! Tanemon!" Myotismon's eyes flashed a blood red as he realized that he needed to reassert his dominance, "So you choose to stand against me. Very well, you know what I do to traitors. GRIZZLY WING!"

A swarm of bats came forth from Myotismon's hands towards Gotsumon and Pumpkinmon. They squeaked and hissed with their sharp teeth like tiny daggers digging into every inch of Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon. The two digimon screamed as the bats tore them apart, and they disappeared as the swarm flocked around them. Angemon tried to turn and help, but was still overwhelmed by both Phantomon and SkullMeramon. Motimon and Tanemon couldn't do a thing now, and Mimi was caught in the middle. That just left-

"Matt! I have to help them!" Garurumon said to his partner. Matt shook his head, "No! Stay here and protect TK!"

"MATT! TANEMON AND MOTIMON AND MIMI AND EVERYONE'S FAMILIES ARE IN TROUBLE! STOP WORRYING ABOUT ME AND HELP OUR FAMILY! OUR FRIENDS!" TK snapped at his older brother with teary red eyes. Matt's mind went back to the cave, and the words of the fake TK – the one who didn't want to be babied and wanted Matt to acknowledge that he could take care of himself. Then he remembered Tamer's talk at the pyramid again. Whether or not he should help TK become independent or coddle him. His words at the castle also came to mind – help your friends when they need you. Matt knew he had to help save the world, but wanted to protect his brother while he did it. He realized that he couldn't protect his brother all the time, or rather that he shouldn't. Not when there were others who needed protecting, "I…I'm sorry TK. I…didn't mean…"

"Please," TK whimpered, "Save them."

He looked up at Angemon holding his own, their parents being held hostage, and the two digimon who turned against him. The swarm of bats pulled away, leaving nothing but clouds of data that had been the two digimon. Myotismon hissed, "If anyone else has any bright ideas of turning against me, now is the time!"

"Garurumon. KICK HIS BUTT!" Matt told his partner. Garurumon went straight into the fight and tackled Phantomon to the ground. His sudden entrance caught SkullMeramon off guard, giving Angemon the opening he needed to deal a good blow. The angel swept his legs and knocked him off balance. In the same swift motion, Angemon placed his free hand on SkullMeramon's head to hold him in place while the other hand prepared to deal the strike, "HAND OF FATE!"

Angemon struck him in the chest and the blow flung the ultimate level over the police station. They heard a splash behind them, indicating that SkullMeramon had fallen into the bay area behind the station. Before anyone could celebrate Myotismon produced a blood red whip and cracked it against Angemon's back. He screamed and careened to the ground in front of the police station. Myotismon laughed jovially while he whipped the angel again and again, each blow cracking the air as he screamed. TK shouted for his partner, "Angemon!"

Watching their guardian angel fall, the police finally broke the commander's orders to let the monsters fight it out. Gun shots rang out and bullets flew in Myotismon's direction. Each one hit their mark but he neither reacted nor seemed to acknowledge he was being hurt. He carried on beating Angemon and only stopped when he regressed to Patamon. Here, TK cried out for his partner, "PATAMON!"

He tried running, but Matt held him back, "TK don't!"

The police stopped shooting when Myotismon leered at them, lips parted and fangs bared dangerously, "Are you done?"

Each officer took a step back in terror and Myotismon smirked his satisfaction, "Thought so. If you'll excuse me, an example has to be made."

Myotismon stepped towards for Mimi, who was still trying to shake her partner awake. She didn't noticed he was coming until Myotismon was over them, "Your partner tried to turn my subordinates on me. She dared to challenge me!"

He swatted Mimi to the ground with a slap so that she slammed onto the concrete. Acting on pure adrenaline, Izzy dropped everything and ran for her, "MIMI!"

He wasn't going to stand a chance. Myotismon could end him on a whim, but he had to do something. Anything. Myotismon grabbed him just as he caught up to the girl and kicked him aside. He crumpled to the ground in pain, "AH!"

Mimi froze as she watched Izzy lying on the ground unconscious. Her mouth was moving but no noise came out. And she struggled to process what she has seeing – their digimon friends were hurt, and she'd run out to see they were okay. In so doing, she'd put herself in harm's way and Izzy had been hurt trying to protect her. She'd only wanted to help, but it seemed like no matter what, things only became worse.

Matt shook with anger when he saw Myotismon rounding on Mimi, "GARURUMON! MYOTISMON! HE'S GOING FOR MIMI!"

Garurumon leapt backwards and made a run for Myotismon, only for Phantomon to move in his way, "No you don't. Myotismon is busy with your friends. I'm afraid you'll have to settle for me."

"Garurumon! You have to stop him! Our friends are in trouble," Matt said. He may not have noticed, but TK did when Matt took his hands off him. He saw the crest around his neck emanate a blue light and his digivice hummed to life when Matt shouted, "GARURUMON! SAVE OUR FRIENDS!"

The light from the digivice and the crest burst forward to Garurumon, wrapping him as the champion level cried out, "Garurumon! Digivolve to! WereGarurumon!"

Garurumon emerged from the light swathed in jeans and leather buckles. He was smaller now, but he made up for it by standing on his hind legs. The toes of his fore paws grew longer into fingers, which he could oppose like normal hands. WereGarurumon went straight for Myotismon, "Leave her alone!"

Myotismon glanced sideways at him and took the air, "Another pest. My patience is wearing thin."

"Is WereGarurumon a werewolf!?" TK asked his brother excitedly, "That's so cool!"

"It's like something out of a movie," Matt observed of the two ultimates going against each other, "A horror movie. And the bad guy always loses in those! GET HIM WEREGARURUMON! YOU CAN DO IT!"

The werewolf and the vampire clashed down the street, "Grizzly Wing!"

"Were Claw!" Myotismon summoned more bats from his hands, but WereGarurumon cut each one down with a swipe of his claws. His movements were methodical and fluid, with no hesitation or slow down. WereGarurumon punched his way towards Myotismon, and dealt a swift kick to his chest, "Garuru Kick!"

The blow knocked Myotismon back out into the street. As he did, a red car appeared from nowhere and barreled over him. Phantomon cried out in horror went to aid his master while the car screeched to a halt just in front of the police barricades. The driver's side door swung open to reveal a man in a messy business suit.

Hiroaki Ishida, Matt and TK's father. The two boys said in unison, "Dad!?"

He didn't hear them. He was too distracted by hitting Myotismon, "Holy shit! Was that a…FUCK! IS THAT A WEREWOLF!?"

"Dad!"

"Daddy!"

The two brothers broke away from the police line to see their father, catching him completely off guard. TK hugged him and he asked, "Matt? TK!? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at…no, forget that! How did you guys get here?"

"It's a long story. What are you doing here?" Matt asked his dad, "It's dangerous!"

"I was trying to get to you guys, but it's nothing but road blocks and broken bridges. I thought I'd try the dock and find a boat, but then I ran…whatever, it's not important. I'm just happy that you're alright, and at the police station! Now, I need to see if that man is okay," their father tried to check on the injured Myotismon, but stopped at the sight of WereGarurumon, "Or not."

"Dad. That's WereGarurumon! He's my friend and he's here to help us," Matt told his dad. His dad shot him the most perplexed look, "Friend, huh? Well from what I've seen, we could definitely use one or two of these monsters on our side."

"They're called digimon," TK said, "And…Patamon! Mom! They're in trouble."

"What're you talkin-" his father followed his gaze upwards and saw his ex-wife held hostage, "NANCY!"

"I have the others," WereGarurumon appeared beside them. In the time they'd been talking, he collected their friends and rested them besides the car. The three partner digimon were knocked out, as was Izzy. Mimi was okay but was clearly shaken by the battle. TK let go of his dad to inspect his injured partner, cautiously shaking him, "Patamon!"

"I'm awake. And sore," Patamon peeked his eyes open to look up at his partner. TK sighed in relief and said, "I'm glad you're okay!"

"Thanks WereGarurumon," Matt said, "Now you have to save mom and the other parents!"

"Not so fast," Myotismon said, reminding them that the battle was far from over. It was getting old to see him constantly sneak up on them like this, but served to remind them of his similarity to Tamer – sneaking up on them when they least expected it and using words to inspire or terrify. He quickly grabbed Mimi and flew into the air with her, holding her level with the other parents. Everyone called out to her, and WereGarurumon leapt into action. Phantomon jumped into his path to protect his master, "No you don't! Shadow Scythe!"

"Learn a new trick! Garuru Kick!"

Phantomon swung wide with his scythe, and WereGarurumon adjusted his body mid-air to avoid the attack by doing a back flip. Then he kicked Phantomon towards Myotismon but lost his momentum as a result. WereGarurumon landed on the street while Phantomon continued barreling to Myotismon. The vampire caught the specter with his free hand, "Useless."

"Master, wai-"

It was too late to plead as Myotismon strangled the life out of Phantomon with his other hand, "I have no need for servants who fail me, Phantomon."

"My lord! PLEAS-"

Phantomon disappeared in front of their eyes with a scream. Mimi was struggling to get free, but his hold was firm.

"LET HER GO!" WereGarurumon leapt straight for Myotismon. He sneered and produced his blood red whip, "CRIMSON LIGHTNING!"

"YEAH! GO GET HIM WEREGARURUMON!" Matt cheered on his partner. His dad watched the fight in utter amazement, "Are a werewolf and a vampire fighting over a girl?"

"Yeah, and we're rooting for the werewolf!" Matt said aloud, ignoring his father's remark about a corny love story he read once. The red whip caught WereGarurumon's arm, but the wolf yanked it to pull himself towards Myotismon. The vampire reacted by swinging the whip sideways and throwing WereGarurumon back at the police line. The police moved out the wolf's way, giving him a clear spot to land, "Thanks."

He leapt for Myotismon again, and the vampire hissed, "ENOUGH! GRIZZLY WING!"

Another flock of bats appeared from his free hands and swarmed the wolf in midair. He tried hitting them all with his hands, but the swarm continued pouring out until WereGarurumon was close. Then he put Mimi between them, and WereGarurumon had to stop from crashing into them. He adjusted himself once again and landed atop one of the cars used for the police barricade.

"INTERFERE AGAIN AND I WILL USE THIS GIRL AS MY SHIELD," Myotismon hissed at WereGarurumon. He locked eyes with Mimi and saw the flurry of emotion inside them: anger, fear, frustration, and despair to name a few. He didn't care though, her petty concerns weren't his problem, "You. It was your partner that tried to turn my followers against me, and your partner who foiled my grand ultimatum. However, the effort was valiant and I can respect that. So I'll extend a mercy towards you and ask this only once: where is the eighth child?"

Mimi misty eyes turned into a glare and Myotismon grunted. He floated along the line of parents who were struggling to say something through their gags. He stopped in front of her parents, "I'm tired of these games so I'm going to give you some incentive. If my bats were correct, these two are your parents."

Time seemed to stop. Her eyes widened in terror when he turned to look at her. The others could only watch the blood mist down upon them. Myotismon used his free hand to rip into her mother's chest, crushing bone and organ with a wet crunch – his hand came out the other side, dripping with blood and her mother's own insides. Mimi looked at her mom, and her mom looked back with eyes wide. She could hear her dad trying to say something through his gag, but it only came out as muffled noise.

Her mom struggled to stay upright, but her eyes rolled back and she went limp. Mimi screamed out in utter terror at the top of her lungs. The other parents watched the horror before them while her father screamed and shouted even louder. When Mimi finally stopped, Myotismon said, "I'm not going to ask again."

Mimi was still reeling from the shock of watching her mother die. She couldn't answer, even if she wanted to. Myotismon jeered, "Come now. You still have your father. Or are you saying you'd rather have your mother? Well, it's too late for regrets isn't it? Clock's ticking, then I go to your father."

She didn't answer. She was still reeling from the loss. Myotismon was losing patience, so he already started moving for her father. Matt wanted to open his mouth, but he couldn't knowingly sell out his friends. Especially not in front of TK. But to his surprise, it was TK who finally spoke, "WAIT!"

Myotismon stopped just shy of Mimi's father while TK said, "I'll tell you! I'll tell you where! Just…just stop!"

Myotismon's smile grew wider than they ever thought possible. Then he started laughing. A victorious, mocking laugh, "Don't even bother."

"But-"

"I already know. Gatomon told me," Myotismon laughed, thumbing at his injured subordinate, "Do you think I didn't? I've trained and conditioned her for millennia to do as I wish at my request. She sang like a bird once I applied the right pressure."

Gatomon's expression was pure shame. By the look of her, it seemed like he'd tortured the information out of her.

"Then…why? WHY!?" TK shouted.

"Isn't it obvious?" Myotismon snapped his fingers and the Bakemon lowered their parents to the ground. Then he threw Mimi away carelessly. WereGarurumon sprang into action, catching her before she slammed into the ground while Myotismon went on, "This was never about learning where the eighth child was. This was about you. Your digimon are beaten, and you are willing to sell one of your own. I've broken both your body and spirit."

He laughed even louder at the digidestined. His laughter continued when he departed with his Bakemon and his captives. Matt, TK, and his dad started untying the other parents. TK hugged his mom, relieved she was okay and crying over what he was prepared to do. He apologized but his mother was unable to comfort him, even though she really wanted to. Izzy's parents went to their unconscious son, desperately trying to wake him up and horrified that he wasn't stirring. Mimi's father pushed past them all to see his wife. His hands shook in despair and he wept over her, screaming and cursing. Mimi just stared in silent shock, completely withdrawn from the world. Matt looked in the direction Myotismon was gone. It was no wonder Tamer was so afraid of him. They had played straight into Myotismon's hands. And now, he was going straight for Kari.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Mimi's mother has died. Myotismon is gunning for Kari. And yes, Matt's dad did run Myotismon over. Will the remaining digidestined be able to protect Kari? How is Mimi taking in her mother's death? Find out in two weeks on Friday, July 8th at 5PM CST. Yes, I'm taking another week long break to get the finale of the Myotismon Arc ready as well as the set up the Dark Masters Arc. If you loved it, leave a review in the comments section. I also welcome constructive criticism and speculation on the next chapter. I usually reply in a day or two. Unless it's a guest review, then I'll reply in the next Author's Notes. However, going forward, I will start replying to them at the end of the chapter, not at the start. This is mostly to make them less intrusive to readers. In fact, let's do some now:

 **Guest 1:** There is already a plan where Tai/Tamer meets the other leaders of the other seasons. That is a plan in the future.

 **Guest 2:** I concede that bittersweet endings are not for everyone, however you seem to have misunderstood what that response was in regards to. The review in question wanted to know why the original Digimon Adventure wasn't written like this fan fiction. I explained that I prefer bittersweet endings in my stories. This leads to my next point. This isn't Hamlet or Macbeth. The story isn't going to end with everyone dying. The ending will be bittersweet - the heroes have won, the bad guys are defeated, but the victory feels hollow - they're counting their losses. This is usually par for the course with Digimon. Case in point, Digimon Tamers ended with the digimon going back to the Digital World, never to be seen again. There was a hope spot at the end of the episode, but it was never confirmed by the creators. In fact, they don't even acknowledge Runaway Locomon as canon to Digimon Tamers. Similarly, the original Digimon Adventure ended with the kids going back to their world on the understanding that they may never see their digimon again. Most seasons of Digimon have that type of ending. I have said time and again that we're going in a very dark direction and I'm not going to make changes to the story outline. I knew this story wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, and there's no point in trying to appeal to everyone. Stories that do that tend to lose their own sense of identity, and suffer as a result. I do not want that to happen to The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure. The ending will be bittersweet.

 **Guest 3:** I have no idea what Assassin Stingmon is.

 **Guest 4:** Spoilers.

 **Guest 5:** Believe it or not, that was actually something I gave serious consideration during the planning phases of this story. Which names to go by. I went with the English names for reasons that won't be apparent for a while. The reasoning will make more sense later on in this story, and will be explored further if I can ever find time to write Burnt Leaf Declassified.

With that done, let's do a little tease with lines for the next chapter!

Tamer took offense, "What do you mean get us lost?"

"They're protecting Kari," TK added.

Agumon shrugged, "Who knows? Maybe? Honestly, I can never tell when we're being serious and when we're messing around anymore!"

"Just promise you'll come back in one piece," Joe gulped.

"Then it's show time!" Tamer said with a smile.


	31. Falling Into Place

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hey there readers! Thanks for coming back for another rousing chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure. A big thanks to all the readers who favorited, left a review, and followed the story! I'd also like to give a bigger thanks to Ace Spiritwell for creating the cover art for this story. Give their fan fiction profile and deviant art account a look. And hey, why not check out reader Belendigievolution's deviantart account a look for the awesome fanart they posted? I'm still trying to figure out how to get the links to the fan art to show in my profile, but I'm not sure why it doesn't show - so I'm sorry to you readers still waiting for those. As a reminder: Responses to guest reviews have been moved to the bottom of the chapter to make them less intrusive to the readers.

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 31: Falling In To Place**

Sora peered out the window into the foggy street. It was hard to tell if there was anyone out there, and that made waiting more nerve wracking. Tamer said that if everything played out as it should, then they would eventually end up at a TV Station – where Kari would defeat Myotismon. The nearest one was the Fuji TV Station, and that was the most likely place to go. That's how it was supposed to play out. He'd left out a lot and that had her worried. He hadn't mentioned if anyone would die, like how he didn't mention that Wizardmon and Gatomon would be captured. And recalling how many people died on the bridge wasn't making it easier on her.

As soon as he'd woken up, Tamer had come up with a plan to get Kari and Myotismon to the Fuji TV Station. He had a terrible headache which made it hard for him to talk but he was still able to explain it in detail to the others. When pressed on why they didn't just go now, Tamer explained that Myotismon would never knowingly go there. But if they frustrated him and clouded his ability to think clearly, they could lure him there without him ever realizing that he was going there. It was just a question of executing the plan properly. A lot could go wrong and it all hinged on his ability to talk Myotismon into falling for it.

He could talk, she knew that much. But she recalled their encounter in the castle and wondered how well he'd manage. The fact that his headaches had come back in full force didn't settle her uncertainty. He occasionally fell to the floor at random, mumbling numbers to himself to himself quietly and clutching his head in his hands. Only one part could be made out because it was the one part he kept repeating to himself, "We can manage. We can manage."

"I suddenly don't like this plan. Is he going to be okay?" Joe asked Agumon quietly. The little orange dinosaur hung over his partner and massaged his back, "We'll wing it."

"That is what you guys do, isn't it? Make it up as you go," Gomamon commented snidely. Without warning, Tamer suddenly leapt out and slapped himself in the face, "YES! NO! We'll wing it and the pounding headache will make it all better! Or worse, I don't know. I like working under pressure. This is just like Aca'dehmia!"

"No, we're not holding a ticking bomb this time," Agumon pointed out, to the complete indifference of everyone there. Except for Kari's mom, "There's a bomb?"

"Nah. Well, yes. But not here. Well, does your apartment across the street count as here?" Tamer said curiously, "We were planning on blowing it up, remember?"

"We know, you told-" Kari's mom stopped at the sound of an explosion across the street. Sora peered back out the window and saw a bright glow through the fog. There was another flash of light and a boom, "It looks like they're here."

"Then it's show time!" Tamer said with a manic smile and straightened himself out. He retrieved his white cloak and threw it over Gomamon, "Let's me just fasten this properly."

Gomamon fidgeted anxiously while he made sure the cloak concealed every inch of him. Then he raised the hood to cover his face and carried the small digimon piggy back, "Alley-oop!"

"There's no way this will work," Gomamon said from his back. Agumon slapped the digimon, "Not with that attitude! Just keep quiet and let us do all the talking. Remember to go straight for the TV Station once we've lured Myotismon away."

"We won't," Sora nodded. Tamer asked, "By the way, which way is it from here?"

Kari's mom was about to answer but was stopped by Agumon, "Don't tell him, he'll just get us lost. Tell me."

Tamer took offense, "What do you mean get us lost?"

"That time you had us going in the wrong direction for twenty minutes because you were holding the map upside down. Or that time you pointed south and thought it was north," Agumon retorted. Tamer opened his mouth to respond but couldn't. He sighed, "Fine. Don't tell me."

"Oh, and that time you confused south for west," Agumon added. Tamer groaned, "Yes, thank you!"

Sora's mother pointed out the street, "It's that way just a few blocks."

"Okay, thanks!" Agumon nodded. Gomamon grinned at his partner, "Don't worry Joe. It'll be okay."

"Just promise you'll come back in one piece," Joe gulped. Kari's mom followed suit and told the boy, "Tai, um, Tamer. Please be safe."

"No worries!" Tamer gave them a thumbs up and headed out.

Sora waited for them to close the door before opening the back window to let Biyomon out. As soon as Tamer lured Myotismon away, they would go straight for the TV station where they were supposed to defeat Myotismon. When asked about Gatomon and Wizardmon, Agumon said they would take care of that. Kari's mom was holding her daughter tightly, clearly intent on not letting her go. Joe would have to come for when they met back up with Gomamon. She hoped Birdramon would be able to carry them all – Garudamon likely could but was too big and noticeable. Birdramon might have a harder time, but she'd be harder to notice in this fog.

* * *

Everyone was silent while the Tachikawas mourned. The police moved from their defensive line to surround the digidestined and their families. There was division amongst them about what to do – some thought it would be best to detain them while others thought to help them. The digidestined had put up a better fight than they had against the monsters rampaging through their city. But they were in the minority by comparison. Myotismon's words were still repeating in the minds of the rest: the digidestined had a chance to prevent this and didn't because it was supposed to happen. They could only guess what that meant, but this led them to blame the kids and their monsters.

WereGarurumon was the only reason they didn't think about trying to arrest them. He growled at any of them if they tried to get close, and none of them wanted to after how he'd fought on equal terms with some of the other monsters. It also helped that their digimon partners were starting to come around. Motimon went to check on his partner while Patamon returned to TK's side. Tanemon saw Mimi's state and ran to care for her, only to find that she wouldn't react to anything she said.

"Mimi? What's wrong? Mimi! Please talk to me!" Tanemon nudged at her partner, still staring blankly into space. She followed Mimi's gaze towards her dead mother and fell silent, "Mimi…Mimi, I'm…I'm sorry."

Mimi didn't react. While Mimi's father sobbed over his dead wife, Mimi just sat there and stared quietly. The Takaishis, the Ishidas, and the Izumis, were all silent while they grieved. The parents were unsure of what to say, since they hadn't met each other prior and were only meeting under the gravest of circumstances. The Izumis were too distracted by their unconscious son to care. He was breathing, which was a positive for them but the fact that he wasn't coming around was a point for concern. So the doctor took a look at him and confirmed that he would be okay, but that it wouldn't hurt to take him to the hospital later to have his head checked. Upon realizing he was a doctor, Mimi's dad begged him to help his wife despite what had happened. The doctor said that nothing could be done for her, that her heart had been ripped from her chest. She was gone and nothing could be done for her. The statement brought her father to tears as he sank to knees at the doctor's feet.

The Ishidas and the Takaishis were the luckiest, as they'd survived the ordeal without a scratch – but that only added to the guilt that they got out okay despite everything that happened.

It was only by chance that Matt's dad had arrived and he had a lot of questions about what was going. What were the digimon, why were they here, and what did his two sons have to do with it? It was time for Matt to finally give a long overdue explanation – he told his father everything. About the Digital World, their digimon friends, the battle with Devimon, the prophecy to save the world, and the Tamer and Agumon - who may or may not be Sora's dead friend come back to life. Matt's father listened attentively, occasionally asking a question to clarify but otherwise following along well. TK would sometimes add something Matt would rather have left out, but he supposed it was good his brother was there to keep him honest.

When he finished, Matt's father scratched his head and groaned, "Let me see if I understand this. You kids were transported from your summer camp to another world, where you're supposed to be heroes of prophecy that fight back some evil - including these monsters or digimon or whatever, who are being led by that Myotismon guy. Who I ran over with my car, which only managed to piss him off. And the reason he's here is because of a girl named Kari. who's supposed to be the one to defeat him."

"Yeah, that about sums it up dad," Matt said. His father massaged his temple, "This…is a lot to take in Matt."

"I know. I was supposed to tell you last night. But you weren't home and…" Matt trailed off before finishing his sentence. He noticed WereGarurumon cast him a sideways glance, egging him to be open and honest. Matt wanted to say that he was too scared to say anything - out of fear of being rejected. But he couldn't work himself up to do it. WereGarurumon's gaze became disappointed and Matt found himself unable to look his partner in the eye. Just as he worked up the courage to talk, his dad said, "To be honest, I wouldn't have believed you if you told me all of this last night. I mean monsters, another world, an invasion just to kill one kid? If I didn't see one of those things go stomping by the TV station, I wouldn't have believed a word of it."

"Even if I had been there?" WereGarurumon asked. Matt's dad flinched, "The talking thing doesn't help."

"Does it bother you?" WereGarurumon cocked his head to the side. Matt's dad continued staring at WereGarurumon, fixated by the creature. He retrieved a carton of cigarettes and a lighter, which he fumbled with under his intense gaze. Their mom noted, "Hiroaki! I thought you stopped!"

"Nancy. We're standing next to a ten foot tall werewolf in leather pants from another world, who also happens to be partnered with our son on their journey to save two worlds. Or whatever. I think I deserve a cigarette," Matt's dad struggled with the lighter before managing to light the cigarette. He took a nice long drag on it and said, "Besides, I only quit for you. It's not like we're together anymore."

Those last few words stung a bit harder than he'd intended, but the damage was done. Both Matt and TK looked at each other glumly. TK patted Patamon sadly, as if hoping his partner would make everything okay. Patamon offered him an apologetic look, but was at a loss for what to say. Nancy saw the looks on her sons and leered at her ex. Although she hadn't said a word, Hiroaki was well aware that he'd made a mistake. He was just glad that they didn't live together anymore. He had to change the subject, "If things are as bad in the rest of the city as it is here, then we're going to be in a lot of trouble. I don't think you kids can handle something like this on you own. Where's the military in all of this? Why aren't they the one's sorting this out? Who picks kids?"

"The Tamer said the same thing and he didn't know that answer either," TK pointed out. Hiroaki took another draw of his cigarette, "That's another thing. Who is this Digimon Tamer and Agumon why aren't they here? The way you talked about it, they could have stopped this. Where are they?"

"They're protecting Kari," TK added. WereGarurumon grunted, "They won't last long on their own. We need to get over there and-"

"Fuck that noise. Did you forget the ass kicking you just got?" Matt's dad said. Their mom slapped him as hard as she could on the back of his head, "Language! Not in front of the kids!"

"Suddenly, it makes sense where you two get those words," WereGarurumon commented to TK. The little boy cocked his head, "Get what words?"

His dad massaged the swollen lump forming, and added, "Anyway, I think now's a good time to bring in the military."

"Yeah, we'll just get on the phone and call them. Wait, the phones don't work and half the city doesn't have power," Matt said sarcastically.

"Don't give me that tone Matt. I don't appreciate sarcasm," his dad warned. He finished his cigarette and he tossed the butt aside, "We'll do it at the TV station. They'll have their own power generators which should be up by now. We get there and send out an emergency broadcast. Call for help from the military and tell them exactly what they'll be walking into."

"How long will it take?" Mimi asked. It was the first words she'd spoken since her mother had died. Her gaze was still fixed on her mom so it was hard to tell if she was actually talking to them or not. Her dad had moved from the doctor to grieve over his wife, so she could have been talking to him about funeral preparations. Then she asked, "How long will it take for the army to get here?"

"Mimi?" Sora asked.

"A few hours for the Quick Reaction Force, maybe a day for the rest," said Hiroaki firmly. Mimi nodded, "Then I'm going with you."

"What?"

"What!?"

"Mimi."

Matt and TK swapped glances with each other, then back to Mimi. She scooped up her partner so quickly and firmly, that it was like she'd become someone else from her normally delicate personality. She looked at them and declared, "Let's get the army here."

"Mimi, maybe you should sit down," Matt told the girl, "Y'know, before you do something-"

"Shut up Matt," Mimi screamed at him. She stormed towards his dad, "Get us to the station. Now!"

"Mimi! Calm down," Tanemon tried urging her partner. Mimi shot her a deathly glare, "MY MOM IS DEAD! DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!"

Everyone went silent, surprised that Mimi would ever yell at her best friend. Even her father stopped crying to look at his daughter, surprised to see the anger drawn on her face. Tanemon sheepishly curled up in Mimi's arms and frowned, "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

As if she'd realized her mistake, Mimi hugged her partner, "I'm sorry Tanemon. I'm just, so angry. I can't even think straight. All I can think about is how mom is...is-"

Mimi was unable to find the words to say anything else, falling quiet as she reminded herself that her mother lay just feet away in a pool of her own blood. Returning to the matter at hand again, Hiroaki stated, "We'd better get going if we want to get to the station. My car isn't in any shape to drive and it's a long walk away - especially with all the…digimon."

"WereGarurumon. Do you think you can carry all of us?" Matt asked his partner. WereGarurumon sized them all up and mumbled, "It'll be hard. If it's just you, TK, Mimi, and the other digimon…plus your dad, then no problem. But it'll be hard if I have to carry all of you."

"Izzy's not going anywhere!" his mother said aloud, "Not after everything that's happened. I can't let him go."

Before she could say any thing else, Izzy stirred, "Uh, What happened?"

"Izzy, you're alright!" his mother hugged him. His father sighed in relief and Motimon hugged his partner "Thank goodness!"

"Mom? You're alright!" Izzy returned the hug, "What happened? Did I miss something? The last thing I remember is…MIMI!"

Izzy broke off the hug with his mother and turned to see Mimi with a glare and forceful expression. She briefly glanced at him when she registered his alertness, but her expression remained stern and indifferent. He'd never seen her look so cold, and he wondered what he could've missed to make her like this. His gaze moved over to her mother, and he understood. He wanted to say something to her, something that would erase the scowl on her face. Nothing came to mind.

"We're going to the TV station to try and call the army," Mimi said to him, tone as bitter as her face. Matt's dad quietly remarked, "Technically, it's the Self Defense Force."

"Nobody cares! Are you coming with us?" Mimi asked. Izzy blinked. He wanted to tell her to rethink that idea, but the scowl made it clear she wasn't going to take no for an answer. He nodded, "Yes, but…"

"But what!?"

"Nothing," Izzy frowned. His mom gasped, "Izzy! Please don't! You saw what that…thing did! Don't go fight him again."

Izzy hadn't thought about what his parents would've wanted. He was too freaked out by the glare on Mimi's face to even think about it. But her mother lay lifeless just feet away. It'd be hard to not be as angry as her if that his mom. It'd be hard for his parents to not be that angry if it was him. His thoughts conflicted - should he stay or should he go? He entertained both ideas in his mind, giving deep consideration to both outcomes - if he went, there was a chance he might die. But if he didn't, then the others might not be able to win without him. Then they'd die and so would Kari. He'd already done this much damage knowing there was someone who could stop him. So what would he do when there was no one to stop him. The image of his parents lying on the ground beside Mimi's mother filled him dread but hardened his resolve. Even if they were only his foster parents, he couldn't bear a world where they were dead, "I have to go mom. I don't want to see you guys like…that."

"And you think it'd be better if I saw you like that?" his mom whimpered. Izzy shook his head, "That's not what I meant. I don't…want to sit back and watch everyone else suffer. Not when I know that they're doing all this to get to Kari. Not when…you guys are in danger."

"Honey. Let him go," Izzy's dad said. It was an idea his mom opposed, "MASAMI!"

"Kae, listen. I don't like it either. But our son is going because he wants to protect us," his dad said, "I know that he might not…come back. That Myotismon character looked like he wanted to do everything he could to break them. But he didn't. They're still trying to fight. I think the worse thing we could do as parents is coddle him."

"I…I just don't want him to die!" Kae mumbled. Izzy hugged his mom, "Mom! I promise I'll come back."

Seeing the familial display, TK held his mom's hand, "Mommy. Do you not want me to go either?"

"I don't want you to," Nancy said sternly, and TK's gaze fell glumly, "It's because I gave up isn't it? Because I was going to tell him where Kari was, isn't it?"

"Honey," Nancy sank to her knees to get eye level with her youngest son, "It's because I saw how hurt you were when you did that. You were doing it because you wanted to save your friend, to save us. When you talked about this last night, I…I don't know why I went along with it but…I don't want to see my boys get hurt. I didn't want you to die like…"

Matt overheard her and wanted to say something, but the words escaped him. But her words assuaged his worry that she didn't care about him. She did. The moment didn't last long though, as Mimi spurted out, "Stop dancing around it! My mom died! Just say it! She's dead!"

"Mimi," Tanemon tried to get the girl's attention. Nancy offered Mimi an apologetic look but was able to continue, "I'm sorry about your mother. It was terrible. But I was going to add that you two fought, even though the odds were against you. The truth is that I don't want you to go out there again. Seeing how reckless you and your friends put yourselves in danger scared me. But it also showed me how brave you were. My little boy's growing up."

TK beamed at his mom proudly, while Matt looked away sheepishly. His brother was growing up. But rather than acknowledge that, he spent too much time protecting him. And it put the others in danger. It may have been what cost Mimi her mother. He felt a lump form in his throat and swallowed it.

Their mom continued, "I don't want any of you to go. But…you probably want to go help this Kari person, don't you?"

TK nodded his head, still smiling proudly. Nancy sighed, "Look after each other. All of you."

She looked up at Matt, WereGarurumon and her ex-husband when she said that.

"Hold it! None of you are going anywhere!" one of the officers finally gained the nerve to talk despite WereGarurumon's presence. Matt protested, "Come on! We don't have time for this!"

"You'll have plenty of time to tell us all about it once you're locked up!" the officer warned them, preparing to wrap a pair of handcuffs around Matt's wrists. WereGarurumon stepped in front of the officer, prompting the others to ready their guns. While some disagreed with arresting the children at all, they wouldn't refrain from defending themselves when in danger. The families hugged each other as the guns trained on them and the commanding officer continued forward with the hand cuffs.

"Officer, stand down," said the commanding officer. The officer about to arrest Matt stepped back, "What? Sir, we-"

"Let'em go," the commanding officer said, "I don't want their monsters rampaging around inside the station with all the people in there. Let them go."

"But sir," the officer protested to his commander. The commander lost patience, "I'm pulling rank on you. All of you! Let them go."

"But Captain!" the officer said again, only to be pulled aside by his commander. He whispered something indiscernible, but it was enough for the officer to agree to letting them all go. WereGarurumon sank to all fours, allowing Matt, his dad, TK, Izzy, and Mimi to climb on. The other three kids held their partners tight while WereGarurumon reading himself to go. Before they could go, the doctor and the woman who looked to be his wife approached, "Excuse us. This may sound strange to ask but you know our son Joe Kido, don't you?"

"Yeah, we met him at camp," Matt said, "Are you his-"

"Parents, yes," the doctor nodded, "Where is he? Is he alright?"

"He's protecting Kari, with Gomamon, the Tamer, Agumon, Biyomon, and Sora," WereGarurumon answered. The doctor breathed a sigh and smoothed out his hair, "That's a relief. I was worried when I didn't see him with you. I was worried that-"

Before he could even finish, Mimi interrupted, "Yeah yeah, whatever. Let's go already!"

Tanemon tried to say something but Mimi covered her mouth, something that was uncharacteristic of the girl. Matt said to his mother, "We'll be back soon mom."

"Be safe," she said back. Mimi took one last glance at her parents, her father weeping over her deceased mother. There were many thoughts running through her mind. Did her father even notice that she was leaving? Did he even care? Izzy placed a hand on her shoulder, but it did nothing to help the girl.

Then they were off. WereGarurumon ran as fast as he could, following directions from Matt's father. He yelped in surprise at WereGarurumon's speed - clearly able to outperform his own car. He screamed even louder as WereGarurumon started scaling one of the ruined buildings.

* * *

Myotismon glared at the burned out apartment that he'd mistakenly sent his servants to search. Bakemon, Gazimon, and Gotsumon were running out of the flaming apartment - screaming and bursting to data as the fires roasted them alive. In their frenzy, some ran off the balcony - screaming as they burned and disappeared. Myotismon snapped his fingers to call the attention of the Tyrannomon assembled on the street, "A trap. Clever. DIGIMON TAMER! AGUMON! COME OUT WITH THE EIGHTH CHILD OR WE WILL DESTROY THIS BUILDING!"

When he was met with silence, he added, "I HAVE WIZARDMON AND GATOMON! FACE ME OR THEY WILL DIE!"

Still nothing. Myotismon's fist tightened into a ball and he commanded, "Tyrannomon! On my command, destroy this building!"

Gatomon and Wizardmon gasped as the Tyrannomon prepared to attack. Before they could breathe their first blasts, Tamer's voice sounded behind them, "If you're going to attack us, it'd probably help if you were facing the right direction."

The Tyrannomon turned on the spot, and Myotismon glanced over his shoulder. It was too hard to see with the fog, so he concentrated his powers on dissipating it - revealing The Digimon Tamer standing proudly with his partner Agumon. He'd traded the faded and worn garments of his people in favor of something more similar to the humans of this world, however mismatched they were. His old clothes, or rather his cloak, now swaddled some hidden figure who rode upon his back. Myotismon suspected a trap right away, "What's this? You come out in the open."

"Nah, we were taking a nap and heard all the noise. So we came downstairs to see what was going on," Agumon explained.

"I gotta say that I'm not impressed! We spent all this time getting ready for you to attack us and you end up attacking the _wrong_ building. Geez, how bad are you at this?"

Tamer's bravado was betrayed by the fact that his knees were buckled and he was swaying slightly. However, he was talking fast and confident to hide this fact. Myotismon could see some of his followers already falling for the facade and stepped in, "Not the wrong building. The right one. If I were to guess, you anticipated our arrival and moved. It was clever, until you stepped out in the open and gave yourselves away. Alternatively, my traitor gave me false information. I should strike you down as punishment - slowly and painfully!"

He watched Gatomon squirm in her ropes while Wizardmon's muffled screams begged and pleaded for mercy. Any moment now, Tamer would play his part to keep her alive. And he did, "Go ahead kill her. Won't change the fact that you got the wrong building."

Myotismon had patience for the games these two played, and he answered, "Then perhaps I should destroy both buildings. If there is anyone left in there - anyone you're trying to protect - they'll die. Then I'll deal with you!"

"Go right ahead. You'll look like an idiot if you do," Agumon said, "When we tell people how we beat you, do you want us to leave this part out? Destroyed two buildings to kill people who weren't inside them. Should we leave out the part about needing a bib too?"

"I thought that went without saying, myself," Tamer added, "I mean look at him! He's got blood running down his shirt and his cape. Myotismon, I know you've been a bachelor for…I don't know, let's say a thousand years? I didn't think that meant you'd lose your table manners. Or, wait, you're a vampire. Do you use tables?"

"Maybe he eats finger food. You don't need a table for that," Agumon pointed out. Tamer glanced at him, "Was that a joke? It was pretty bad."

Agumon shrugged, "Who knows? Maybe? Honestly, I can never tell when we're being serious and when we're messing around anymore!"

"I see you two still play the fools, even as the world around you is burning! Hundreds dead, more injured, and you stand there talking! Can you still call yourselves the heroes?"

"We never call ourselves that," Agumon remarked.

"Warriors then."

"We don't call ourselves that either," Tamer said with a cheeky grin, "To be fair. We haven't done much fighting - just running around and helping out where we can. And while we're on that subject, what kind of villain goes around picking fights with kids?"

"Who picks kids to protect the world?" Myotismon struck where he knew it would hurt. Tamer was following the predetermined path of destiny. He was not. He refused to lie down and die because some prophecy foretold his death, "Truly, for someone like myself, you would have picked much greater threats."

Tamer rolled his eyes, "Look, if you really are so worried, then just kill Gatomon and get it over with already. Carey-"

"Kari," Agumon replied.

"Whoever! They can't beat you without their partner, so why not just do it already? Are you scared or just stupid?" Tamer frowned, "Unless it's a pride thing. It's not a pride thing, is it? You're not trying to keep her alive so that you can show us how totally sure you are that you can kills us, are you? Oh, you are. Wait no, that makes no sense. Then its sadism! You want to make her suffer which is already moot since she's scared out of her wits. Of course, if you really wanted to make her suffer, then you'd dash her only hopes by killing the only human who could stop you. Carey!"

"Kari," Agumon corrected again.

"You question me after your actions have doomed countless lives? And for what? Preserving your-"

"You two are starting to sound like a broken record. Honestly, it's been the same arguments for millennia and you two always go round and round in circles! It's annoying! Can we get to the part where we fight already?" Agumon groaned, "Or at the least, could you two try singing a different song?"

"You want a new song? Then how about-"

"Is that the best idea? He might not be a good singer," Tamer noted. Agumon paused with a look of deep consideration and answered, "That's true, hm. This problem is more complicated than I gave it credit for."

"Maybe he can dance? Vampires do that right? Hey Myotismon! Can you dance?" Tamer shouted up at him. Myotismon watched the boy swaying become more noticeable. He wouldn't be able to keep up this charade much longer, he just had to keep him talking, "Would you care to dance?"

"Not really. I'm not, y'know, into that," Tamer stated, matter of factly. Myotismon indulged his games, "What?"

"Well, you're a vampire and this is what you do. You romance your target, lower their guard, then you sink your fangs into their neck. I don't want that," Tamer laughed. Myotismon bore his fangs, "Do you think I would waste my time with you?"

"Well, you did come to me. Not the other way around. I'm just saying. I mean, you came to us at the Coliseum, then you came to us here," Tamer said. Myotismon added, "You traveled to me castle."

"Well yeah, we traveled to the castle but not to see you. The digidestined wanted to go home! So we showed them the only way back," Tamer said dumbly. He was leaning on Agumon now. He was tired. He wouldn't be able to move or flee. Myotismon's smile widened, "It seems all of the changes to the _ways things are supposed to be_ have taken their toll on you. Look, you can barely stand! Let alone recall the past for how it happened. No matter. Let's ease your suffering. Kill them."

The Tyrannomon charged forward at the three of them. Tamer held out his digivice and blinded them with a flash of bright light. The light moved to his partner and he changed to his champion level, "AGUMON! DIGIVOLVE TO! GREYMON!"

Greymon scooped up Tamer and the eighth child swaddled in his cloak, then took off for a spring down the street. He knocked over two of the Tyrannomon in the process and kept running, right past Myotismon. In that brief moment when Tamer was close by, he spat a loogie onto Myotismon's face. The vampire lord wiped it off and grunted, "Again you run away. Old habits die hard. But not as hard as you. AFTER THEM!"

The Tyrannomon began their pursuit as did a few of the Bakemon. The ones carrying Wizardmon and Gatomon went to follow but he stopped them, "No. Stay close, but behind me at all times. He cannot have these two, no matter what happens."

"Yes, m'lord," the Bakemon bowed away and stayed close behind. He'd underestimated Tamer. Did he fall into his trap or was it the other way around? In either case, Myotismon would not be made a fool of. He could not allow either of these two to be free. Not yet - first the eighth child, then Gatomon. He wanted his female servant to watch the eighth child suffer, before he throttled the life out of her. These musings were distracting, and he returned himself to the matter at him. He could not allow the sweet thought of their suffering detract his attention when he was this close to achieving victory. Not after Tamer spat on him. There would be blood to pay.

* * *

Sora peered out the window, watching as Tamer, Greymon, and Gomamon led Myotismon away. Sora signaled to the others, "They're gone. Let's go!"

Biyomon climbed out and hovered just outside to make room for her digivolution. Sora's digivice flashed and she turned into Birdramon. She used her foot to anchor herself to the window, which also allowed everyone to climb onto her back - Kari's mom, Kari, Sora's mom, Joe, and then Sora. Birdramon let go of the window and sank in the air. She flapped her wings harder and was able to regain her lift. It took more effort, she was finally able to get high enough to go over the building and soar away. Kari looked down to the street, "Will Tai be okay?"

"We've seen him do this before. It worked for about ten minutes. Then the bad guy figured out it was a trick," Joe commented, earning a gasp from both Kamiyas.

"Which makes it more important that we go," Sora said. Birdramon flew faster towards the TV station, passing over the devastation left through the city by Myotismon and his army. Bodies lined the streets, along with burning cars, looted stores, and worse. Kari's mom tried to cover her eyes - to protect her little girl, but she'd already seen enough. All of this had happened because a bad digimon was trying to get to her. That was the thought running through the little girl's mind. As they flew, they spotted what looked like Garurumon wearing pants and buckles running in their direction. The other digidestined rode atop his back, along with a man they didn't recognize. Sora shouted, "Guys! Hey!"

"Sora!?" Matt said in surprise. The man riding with them panicked as Birdramon touched down beside them, "What the crap! That's a bird! A big...fiery bird."

"It's okay dad! They're friends!" TK explained. Matt asked them, "Are you guys okay? Myotismon was coming straight for you!"

"Tamer, Gomamon, and Agumon led him away. I'm glad to see you're alright!" Sora said happily. Izzy looked them over and asked, "What's the plan then?"

"We're bringing Kari to the TV station. Tamer and Agumon says that's where we're supposed to beat him and he's going to distract Myotismon while we get Kari there," Joe explained. At the mention of what was 'supposed to happen' Mimi scowled and screamed, "THAT JERK COULDN'T HAVE TOLD US THAT SOONER!?"

"Whoa, what's gotten into you Mimi?" Sora asked in surprise. Kari was startled and her coughing came back, and her mom took to massaging her back. Matt, TK, Motimon, Izzy, and Patamon waved their hands as if to say to leave it alone but it was too late. Mimi shrieked, "I'll tell you what! MY MOM IS DEAD!"

Everyone riding atop Birdramon was stunned, and Sora could only fumble the words, "Mimi…Mimi I'm so sorry!"

"SAVE IT! YOU AND YOUR BEST FRIEND CAN-"

"Mimi! Calm down! This isn't the time for this," the man cut her off, "Look, we were on our way to help you guys, but we're going to the station next. To get out a distress call to the military."

"Excuse me. Who are you?" Sora's mom asked.

"I'm Hiroaki Ishida. Matt and TK's dad," the man said, "Now are we going to go? We've wasted enough time."

Sora looked at the scowl on Mimi's face, taken aback by just how angry she was. She glanced over her shoulder at her mom. And at Kari's mom, who was holding Kari tight with one arm and holding onto Birdramon with the other. There was a look of guilt on the girl's face that worsened her sickly complexion. The little girl must have been having the same thoughts she was having. She could only imagine what it would be like to lose her mom, but it wasn't what she could afford to focus on at the moment. They had to get to the TV station for whatever was supposed to happen. Tamer, Agumon, and Gomamon could only buy so much time.

"Let's go!" Sora shouted. The digidestined hurried off as fast as they could for the TV Station.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Will the digidestined get to the TV station? Will Myotismon realize he's being led on? How is Mimi going to cope with her mom's death? Find out in the next chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure, due out in one weeks on Friday, July 15th at 5 PM CST. So here's the deal: I'm in the process of moving apartments and I haven't had much time to do any writing or editing in the last few weeks between everything else I've had to do. So, to make up for this, starting July 15th, I'm going to switch the format from weekly to three weeks then a week off. Since that's pretty much what we're doing anyway. This will give me time to stay ahead on the writing while also take care of normal life stuff. Anyway, if you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I usually reply in a day or two. I also welcome constructive criticism, and speculation on the next chapter. Unless it's a guest review, then I'll reply in the next Author's notes. I'd also like to request that guests leave only one review per chapter. I've suspected for a while that a majority of guest reviews are coming from a few people flooding the review section, and I'd like to ask them to keep it to a minimum because I don't like using my review section as a messaging system.

Now let's do some lines from the next chapter:

Kari slid beside her partner, "Gatomon! Are you okay!?"

Myotismon declared, "Think about it! How many have died? Koromon Village? Etemon's Prison Camps? Devimon's Mind Slaves? How many more will die because you won't change what has to happen!?"

Hiroaki looked past him at the staff holding cameras, "Were those recording?"

The children looked at him curiously as he stormed towards Tamer, "What have you done?"

Then she felt someone push her to the ground and heard her brother's voice, "Kari! I'll protect you!"

* * *

 **Guest Review Responses:**

 **Guest 1:** That's an interesting fact, but as loose as I've made the outline to incorporate new ideas, I don't see that being particularly useful.

 **Guest 2:** (1) That may be. (2) You know, I've been playing through that game and I keep meaning to get around to beating it in my spare time. I'm still on Chapter 10 though so that could be a long way's off.

 **Guest 3:** Two things: First, I want to remind you that the story has already been outlined from beginning to end. This means, that everything that happens in this story is happening for a reason, even down to the subtlest detail. Second, I want to say you're close. I really do. But you're not. You're actually off the mark by a lot. As a reminder, time travel won't come up too much in this story except for maybe when we get to the Hunters arc. Otherwise, you're sort of on the right track, but not really.

 **Guest 4:** Again, time travel isn't really an element at play here. We're taking cues from Doctor Who, but time travel won't be much of a factor.

 **Guest 5:** I think there's been a miscommunication here. I didn't meant to say a 'happy ending' causes a story's quality to suffer. There are plenty of stories with happy endings that are good: Spirited Away, Avatar the Last Airbender, Star Wars. What I meant was that a story that changes itself to appeal to an audience it wasn't intended for will suffer.

 **Guest 6:** I'm sure there will be other readers who are upset with the direction we're going, that is nothing new to me. I'll tell them the same thing I've been saying. This story's plot was mapped from beginning to end and was never intended to appeal to everyone. Appealing to the mass market means nothing if this story loses its identity in the process.


	32. Light Pierces the Dark

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Chapter 32! The Light Pierces the Dark! Thanks for coming back to read the latest chapter and leaving reviews for the last chapter. An even bigger thanks to Ace Spiritwell for making the cover art for this story. Why not check out their deviant art account and their fanfiction account? Let's not waste any time and get started on the next chapter of the Tamer.

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 32: Light Pierces the Dark**

Nobody working at the Fuji TV Station expected the day to play out the way it did. First, the power failure and the communications black out threw normal operations into disarray. Then the appearance of monsters to attack the city led many employees to run for their lives or barricade themselves in the building. Those who stayed inside found the building under attack by a large green dinosaur with tusks growing from its back and some blue blob monster with a distorted face. The two monsters broke through the glass but weren't able to reach in because of the metal bars.

Some threw office supplies at the monsters to scare them off, but it only annoyed them further. Others relied on their instincts as the production crew of TV to grab cameras and audio recorders. Each of them had their own ambitions - getting awards or a chance to pitch their own shows to the higher-ups, perhaps even getting a book deal to tell the story of how they survived. Assuming any of them lived that long.

The blob spoke with a hoarse groan, "Hungry…eat you…EAT! YOU!"

"METEOR WING!"

A rain of flaming feathers struck the two monsters from the back - killing the two creatures where they stood. They both let out one gasp then turned into clouds, leaving nothing behind but the damage they caused. There was a moment of relief once the monsters were gone, and it turned to terror when two new monsters appeared - a great bird whose body was wrapped in flames and what looked like a werewolf with blue stripes on its white fur. Riding them were kids of varying age and one of their own - Hiroaki Ishida. The journalist asked, "Is everyone alright?"

"Hiroaki?" asked one of the producers, "What's going on? Why do you have two of those things with you!?"

"It's a long story. How are we doing on the broadcast antenna? Are we able to get out a message?" he asked the producer. The producer shrugged, "Well, yeah, the generators came on a little while ago but it's not going to do any good. The rest of the city doesn't have power!"

"I'm not trying to reach the city, I'm trying to get the military," Hiroaki said, "They'll need to know what they're walking into when they come into the city."

"We're not exactly ready to broadcast and what are the odds the military will have a television tuned to one of our channels?" the producer protested, already thinking about the hell he was going to get from the company executives for an unscheduled broadcast. Hiroaki groaned, "What part about the last few hours hasn't quite sunken in yet? The part with the monsters roaming the streets, the part where people are dying, or the part where the military hasn't shown up yet?"

"But-"

"Look! If the military isn't here yet, then that means one of two things. They either don't know what's going on, or they do know and the first ones to get here got wiped out!" Hiroaki explained.

"What?" asked a sickly little girl with him. The girl was holding the hand of a woman the producer could only assume to be her mother. The mother shushed her while Hiroaki added, "If it's the first, then it'd probably be a good idea to get some kind of message out there before we're all dead. If it's the second, then the reinforcements are going to get wiped out like the first ones if they don't know what to expect."

"But if there are no survivors, why would they believe the monsters were attacking?" the producer asked. Hiroaki looked past him at the staff holding cameras, "Were those recording?"

"I bet they were," the producer nodded. He could already see the staff sweating nervously, upset that they might have seen a possible future career go up in smoke. The producer thought it would serve them right, as they cared more for furthering their own careers instead of doing something about the giant monsters that were trying to eat them all just moments ago.

He glanced at the people who'd assembled here with Hiroaki - two women, three girls, four boys, and three stuffed dolls with them. He didn't even want to ask what he'd gotten into since he ran out of the office earlier in the day. The producer sent out his remaining staff to prepare an emergency broadcast.

* * *

Gomamon clung tight to Greymon as they raced around the city. Tamer had collapsed after he spat on Myotismon, passed out from his increasing headache. Myotismon and his entire army chased after them, shooting fire and bats towards them. Despite his massive size, Greymon was able to maneuver around the attacks and avoid them all. He kept moving around cars, over small buildings, under bridges, and whatever else he had to do to escape his pursuers.

The chase felt like it lasted an eternity, and Gomamon could hear his own heartbeat while they ran. Eventually, they found themselves at a park on the edge of the man-made island, surrounded by Myotismon's soldiers on one side and water on the other. With nowhere to run, Greymon turned on his heels to face Myotismon's army. The vampire cackled, "This has been amusing while it lasted, but it's time for the end game. Make it easier on yourselves. Just lie down and die already!"

"You know, you really have to do something about all that aggression," Greymon growled, "It can't be healthy."

"KILL THEM!" Myotismon commanded. Before the Tyrannomon shot their fire blasts, Tamer whispered, "Close your eyes."

Gomamon did as he was told and heard the unmistakable sound of the digivice flashing light, followed by the shrieks of hundreds of digimon. He snuck a peak to see Tamer had forced himself back up with his arm outstretched - pointing his digivice at the army. He looked dazed, but not as badly as all of Myotismon's digimon staggering back with their eyes covered. Myotismon had protected himself by covering his eyes with his cape, and he unfurled it as Greymon uprooted a tree. Myotismon began, "How many times are you going to rely on the same tricks you incompe-"

Before he could finish his thought, Greymon threw the tree straight at Myotismon and caught the vampire off guard enough that he did nothing as the tree slammed into him. The tree dragged him straight into a building and Greymon took the chance to charge straight for the Bakemon holding Gatomon and Wizardmon hostage, "Nova Blast!"

The Bakemon were still blinded by the light, and were burned to bits by the fire. Gatomon and Wizardmon plummeted straight onto Greymon's head and the dinosaur took off right away. Tamer undid Gatomon's ropes first, mostly so that she would stop screaming at him, "You idiot! What were you thinking? Putting Kari in danger like that!?"

"It's not Kari," Tamer grunted, motioning at Gomamon to briefly raise his hood, "I'm not an idiot."

"Then where's Kari?" Gatomon asked. Tamer started undoing Wizardmon's hood, "Carey, Carey, Carey. Geez. She's fine, she's with the others. Did you guys get the crest?"

"No, we didn't," Wizardmon sighed, "He knew the whole time and he threw it into the sewers. The current could have carried it anywhere by now."

"Dammit!" Tamer frowned, "Okay, let's meet up with the others. Greymon."

"Already on it!" Greymon hurriedly charged down the street. There was a rumble behind them and Myotismon emerged from the ruined building to chase them, "Come back here!"

Myotismon was fast and quickly caught up with Greymon - keeping pace along side the group as they ran. Gomamon readjusted his hood to conceal himself while Gatomon jumped between them. Myotismon hissed, "At last! The eighth child and Gatomon. Together for me to finish them."

The blood red whip formed in his hand and he prepared to strike, "Crimson Ligh-"

Tamer hocked another loogie at his face, again catching the vampire off guard, "STOP SPITTING AT ME!"

"Stop making it so easy," Tamer collapsed back onto Greymon's head with a laugh. He still looked dazed and the laughter only made him look insane. Wizardmon ran to the edge of Greymon's head, "Keep running. I'll distract him. Electro Squall!"

A ball of electricity shot out of his staff towards Myotismon. The vampire dodged and the wizard cast more spells at him, "Thunder Ball! Magic Game! Blink Breeze! Electro Squall!"

The spells cast fire, ice, lightning, wind and stone at the vampire - who resorted to simply taking the hits instead of trying to dodge them. The hits slowed him down, but Myotismon maintained his pursuit, "I WILL DESTROY YOU!"

"I've...never seen...Master Myotismon so...unhinged," Gatomon trembled as she spoke. Wizardmon stopped casting spells to say, "He's not your master, Gatomon. He's the one who made you suffer. But you don't have to do as he wishes anymore. THUNDER BALL!"

Another blast of electricity shot out of his staff and struck Myotismon - who carried on unaffected by the attack. Gatomon shied away, "What's...going on with him? He's never...acted like this!"

"You haven't noticed?" Greymon said as he ran.

"Noticed what? That there's a blood hungry vampire chasing us down because you kept ticking him off?" Gomamon asked. Tamer jolted awake, "He's drunk."

He passed out before he could say anything else, leaving the three digimon baffled. Greymon finished, "He's covered in blood and a vampire. He probably had more than enough of his fill and is drunk on it!"

"What's drunk mean?" Gomamon asked. Wizardmon provided a lengthy explanation, "It's a physiological state - MAGIC GAME - defined by impairment of - THUNDER BALL - physical behavior and - ELECTRO SQUALL - mental faculties from an excess of - BLINK BREEZE - an intoxicating substance."

"You and Izzy will get along like best friends," Gomamon said quietly. Wizardmon scoffed, "If I live that long - MAGIC GAME!"

"What was that Wizardmon?" Gatomon asked her friend. The wizard continued blast his attacks, "BLINK BREEZE - Never you mind - ELECTRO SQUALL!"

* * *

The digidestined assembled by the entrance with their digimon partners, keeping an eye out for any of Myotismon's army that may pass by. It was eerily quiet out there, and it would've been hard to believe that they'd been in a war zone just moments ago. Mimi was itching for a fight more than anyone, ready to unleash hell on anyone and everyone of Myotismon's followers. The others, Tanemon especially, were worried for the girl because of this change in attitude. No one was sure what to say to her as she was the only one who lost a loved one. Well, the only one who lost one recently. Sora wanted to try talking to her, but Tai ended up not being dead - he'd just gone crazy and was convinced that his name was Tamer. Similarly, neither Kari nor her mom could talk to her either. Mimi's mother was dead and they had the body to prove it.

What was there to say to her?

Oddly, Kari decided to give it a shot and went to talk to her despite her mother's objection. Kari insisted, but left out that she felt at fault for all of this. She didn't want to give her mother any more to worry about. She started, "Um...Mimi."

"WHAT!?" Mimi said harshly. Mimi noted that the sickly girl didn't flinch despite the harshness of her tone. Kari responded, "I...I'm sorry about your mom."

"That doesn't bring her back," Mimi frowned. Kari replied, "It doesn't. But it's my fault, isn't it?"

Mimi scoffed, "Don't."

"I-"

"I don't want to talk Kari!" Mimi glared at the girl, surprised that she still stood there without flinching. Perhaps she was too sick to understand that Mimi was upset. Kari still kept trying, "I…didn't know this would happen. But, if it helps, I sort of understand how you feel."

"Oh really? Because the last time I checked, your brother turned out to be alive and completely insane! And he knew this would happen and did nothing about it! I can't believe I ever felt sorry for the guy but now…MY MOM IS DEAD! AND UNLIKE YOUR BROTHER, SHE ISN'T COMING BACK!" Mimi was staring needles at Kari now, and the little girl could only look up apologetically. Even still, she tried to talk, "I do know. Because dad left and told mom that he never wanted to see her again. And she told him that she didn't want him to come back. Ever."

Mimi considered what Kari said, and cooled down. Matt and TK mentioned their parents being divorced, but never talked about it. They seemed adjusted to it, although Matt was overprotective and TK was sometimes a bit rebellious. And they at least had each other over the course of the separation. Kari, on the other hand, seemed like she'd gone through the whole experience on her own - with only her mother to provide support to her. Thinking on it only recalled what happened to her mother, and Mimi found herself embittered again. She was more calm, but still agitated when she stated, "Your dad will still comeback."

Kari frowned, "I don't know if he will. I hope I'll see him again. But that was three years ago. Mom and I haven't heard from him since he left."

"Kari. I get that you're trying to help, but you're only making me feel worse. If you want to help, then dangle yourself out there so that Myotismon shows up!"

"Okay that's enough Mimi," Tanemon finally talked to her, "I get that you're mad about your mom. But taking it out on others isn't going to help! And we did all this to protect Kari! If anything happens to her, your mom will have died for nothing!"

Mimi breathed another calming sigh. Kari was the reason her mother had died. She wanted to blame Kari, but it was Myotismon who killed her mom - all to get to this little girl. And if anything happened to her, then Tanemon was right - her mother's death would have been in vain. She stifled her anger, planning to save it for Myotismon. The ground shook with a soft rumble and a roar came from the down the street - and it was drawing closer. It seemed that Mimi wouldn't have to wait long.

* * *

Matt's dad worked with colleagues to get a broadcast going. It didn't take them long to get the cameras rolling, and Matt's dad took the desk - looking harried and overworked. They would have cleaned him up, but he didn't want to waste time on appearances - which was exactly the reason why the normal news anchors wouldn't go on camera. He began, "This is an emergency broadcast to anyone who can get this signal. Tokyo is under attack. Monsters have appeared in the city and are destroying everything in sight. The images you are about to see are graphic and disturbing."

He nodded at one of the camera crew, who flipped a switch to change the video feed from the camera to the recordings. He continued talking over the video of the giant attacking monsters, "The monsters vary in size from 1.5 meters to 10 meters in height, and have a range of abilities from breathing fire to flying. They've already destroyed several of the bridges around the city and appear to be doing everything they can to isolate the city. If there are any military receiving this signal, please help us! Send anything! Everything! To everyone else out there, stay in your homes, lock your doors and be with your loved ones. Stay safe and protect each other."

The producer signaled to end the broadcast and the crew made sure they were off the air before allowing the producer to approach Hiroaki, "You're not very good with public speaking."

"Yeah, I don't really have a face or a voice for the camera," Hiroaki said sheepishly. The producer gave him a congratulatory pat on the shoulder, "All the same, this was a good idea Ishida."

"All we can do now is hope that someone heard the broadcast," Hiroaki said quietly, "I'm going to go check on my kids."

Hiroaki hurried off, leaving the producer baffled. He'd known Hiroaki recently divorced his wife, but he'd never figured adultery to be involved. Or that Hiroaki could have so many kids with other women. The producer shook his head.

* * *

Myotismon continued pursuing The Digimon Tamer and Greymon through the streets. He had the eighth child, and now he had Wizardmon and Gatomon. He could not afford to let the future come to be as Tamer's foresaw. He would not die - he would not perish! His destiny was to rule over a domain in the Digital World and the Human World. The future was going too far from that vision. He should have killed Gatomon when he had the chance, not played the games with her and the other chosen children.

He wouldn't make that mistake again. He would kill them - quick and painless, "STOP RUNNING, COWARDS! COME BACK HERE!"

"We're not the ones running away," Greymon laughed, "We never ran away. We ran towards!"

"Then face me!" Myotismon howled angrily. Greymon laughed again, "Wizardmon?"

"Magic Game!" Wizardmon cast another spell at the vampire. Myotismon waved his hand and threw the spell back onto the street, "Do you think you can toy with me!?"

"Well, I did use an attack called Magic Game," Wizardmon snickered. Gatomon's ear cringed as Greymon laughed with the wizard, and she asked, "What's so funny?"

"Toy with me? Magic game? Get it?" Greymon said as he laughed, further enraging the vampire, "Your games will only get you so far!"

"Are you kidding? We've been running circles around the same building for like five minutes!" Greymon declared with a grin. Myotismon glanced sideways at the the building beside them and scoffed. He had absolutely no idea if they had been circling it and was too angry to care - if it was true, then that made it all the more important that he focus. His blood lust and overconfidence made him careless. He couldn't afford to be anymore.

Both of his arms thrust forwards and he cried, "GRIZZLY WING!"

A swarm of bats escaped his hands and engulfed the champion level digimon, biting at his raw hide and draining him. He acted quickly and covered his head to protect everyone riding his head, but that wouldn't protect them for long. Through the gaps between his finger, Wizardmon cast more of his spells to drive off the bats. Their small bites harassed the dinosaur enough that he started to slow, and Myotismon was able to close the gap between them.

"Now die!" Myotismon roared as he pried the champions hands apart. With a swift kick to the top of his head, Myotismon sent the dinosaur sliding onto the pavement as he dragged to a stop. Greymon's passengers were thrown forward - Gatomon, Wizardmon, the Digimon Tamer, and the eighth child. In that brief moment that they tumbled through the air, the cloak fell off the eighth child and he caught his first glimpse of Gatomon's human partner.

It was Gomamon.

Myotismon's blood boiled, "WHAT!?"

"Heh, not so smart huh?" Greymon picked himself back up. Myotismon's fists shook with rage and quietly said to himself, "No."

"To your credit, Etemon took just a few minutes longer to figure it out," Greymon added with a grin.

"NO!" Myotismon dove towards the group as they picked themselves up. He was tired of games. He was going to end this here and now, by killing Gatomon. Before he could wrap his fingers around her neck and choke the life out of her eyes, Tamer shot up and flashed more light from his digivice to blind him, "RUN!"

Myotismon covered his eyes and glided away from where they were in an effort to protect himself, if any of them were going to strike then now was the time to do it. He'd been made a fool of enough in the last few minutes and he would not be done in by some cheap tricks. He forced his eyes open through the pain and tried to make sense of his surroundings. There was a building of glass, concrete and steel arranged with a peculiar design marked by a large ball in the center. Beside it was a parking garage and the water. Myotismon blinked a few times to clear his vision but he already knew where they were. The place he'd seen in the visions of the future - the place where the eighth child would defeat him, "NO!"

The fools were already running for the building. He would have to tread carefully now - the eighth child's crest couldn't shine, and Wizardmon had to live. Those two things had to come to pass.

* * *

"TAI! You're okay!" Kari shouted at the group running towards them. Gomamon ran past her to rejoin Joe while the rest of them met with Kari. Gomamon remarked, "I'm happy to see you're all alright."

"My name's not Tai," Tamer commented but Greymon interrupted, "I don't want to kill the mood but can we do this after we beat Myotismon? I think we've officially made him mad."

"He wasn't mad before?" Gatomon remarked half jokingly and half seriously, to the surprise of the others.

"Then wait until he gets a load of me," Mimi said while walking past them with Tanemon. Izzy ran past with Motimon as well and the two digimon digivolved through to their rookie, champion, then ultimate forms. Their two ultimate forms, Lillymon and MegaKabuterimon hammered into Myotismon while he floated in the air in a daze. It was hard to tell if they were doing any damage, but the fact that he wasn't putting up much resistance was likely a good sign. Tamer scratched the back of his head as he watched the display, "What's gotten into Mimi? And when did they get to the Ultimate level?"

"Her mom died," Kari frowned. WereGarurumon, Garudamon, and Angemon rushed past to join the battle against Myotismon, although Kari noted that her brother didn't seem to notice any of it. He didn't even register that they were joined by the other digidestined - Matt, TK, Sora and Joe. Without a word, Gomamon dashed off to help the other digimon and digivolved to his ultimate form, Zudomon. He was simply lost in his own world, and his look was glazed over, "No. That wasn't supposed to happen."

"What wasn't?" Wizardmon asked, but Tamer ignored him. He asked again, "What happened?"

"Myotismon. He captured our parents and said he'd kill them if we didn't tell him where to find Kari. We tried to rescue them but he…killed her mom," Matt paused, not needing to finish what he said. Tamer looked over at Mimi with a distraught look, "She wasn't supposed to. He wasn't-"

"It's like I said. If Myotismon knew he was supposed to do that, why wouldn't he do something else?" Joe stated with folded arms, "Or was this one of your unimportant details?"

"No, of course not! Mimi's mom wasn't supposed to die. Myotismon wasn't supposed to do that!" her brother said desperately, "This wasn't how it things were supposed to be."

"Yeah, well it did," Matt folded his arms. Amidst their talking they heard a thunderous crack and their digimon were thrown over their heads into the surrounding buildings. Greymon, Wizardmon and Gatomon moved in front of the digidestined as Myotismon glided down to meet them, "Hm. It seems you still have fight in you, after all that's happened and all that you've lost. Why can't you all just lie down and die? I've said it before: this all stops when the eighth child dies."

"After what you did to Mimi's mom? Forget it!" Lillymon zoomed past overhead and tried to nail a punch on the vampire, only to be tossed aside with ease. Myotismon laughed, "You don't get it yet, do you? You can't beat me! NONE OF YOU CAN BEAT ME! So give me the eighth child and everything will end."

"We can't beat you, she can. So if you want to get to her, you'll have to go through us," Tamer pushed Kari behind him and Greymon. Myotismon laughed even louder, "You two? Are you joking!? You haven't even made your crest glow! How do you expect to fight when all you've done is run! Run away from everything! It's no wonder your crest doesn't glow!"

Kari looked at her brother and noticed how uneasy he was. The others were silent and their digimon were moving to encircle them. If Myotismon were to attack, there would be no safe direction for him to attack from.

"Wait, you know how the crests work?" Joe realized. Myotismon's smile widened, "I do. Has he not told you?"

Their silence was all the answer he needed. Myotismon tilted his head to the side and smiled, "Well then, let me tell you: The Digimon Tamer is courage. She is Love. The brothers are Friendship and Hope. You're little computer fanatic is Knowledge. The one with the glasses is Reliability. The one with scowl is Sincerity. And the eighth is Light. Have you figured it out?"

Izzy mulled to himself quietly, "It…it's traits. Things about us, right? And the crest glows when we exhibit those traits?"

Myotismon chuckled, "The point goes to knowledge. It's almost depressing to think that Tamer knew this but couldn't figure it out, isn't it?"

"Wait, Tamer, why _couldn't_ you get yours to glow?" Greymon asked, "After everything we've done, I'd say courage isn't a problem."

The fiery haired boy looked up in disdain, at a loss for words and seemingly hit by a ton of bricks. Myotismon mused to himself quietly and commented, "And yet here you are, stuck as a champion. So, what is it that Tamer could possibly be so afraid of? It's the thing he's genuinely been afraid to do since the very beginning. The clues have all been there. What's the _one thing_ he won't knowingly do!?"

Tamer shifted uncomfortably as he produced his digivice, "Guys, remember that time that I said that Myotismon likes to get in your head? This is one of those times. So now would be a good time to cover your ears."

"If I'm getting in your head Digimon Tamer, it's only because I'm speaking the truth! The one thing you won't do, the one thing you're _afraid_ to do is go against what's supposed to happen!" Myotismon declared, "Think about it! How many have died? Koromon Village? Etemon's Prison Camps? Devimon's Mind Slaves? How many more will die because you won't change what has to happen!?"

He looked over at Mimi, "Do you think your mother had to die? Do you think anyone had to? According to Tamer, it was supposed to happen."

"No, it wasn't," Tamer shook angrily, "You weren't supposed to do it!"

"But you did nothing! Because you were afraid you might do something you weren't supposed to! That's why your crest won't glow, Tamer. Because for all your _bravery_ and _heroics_ , at the end of the day you and your pathetic digimon partner are just cowards! How many times have you scared into inaction? How many times did you turn your back and run away!?"

Kari watched her older brother's expression go blank. If she knew Tai the way she knew him, and if Tamer was her brother, then he would lock up. Whenever he didn't know what to do, he'd simply freeze. He was going through all of this to protect her. He was hurting because of her. And she hated that. Everyone who'd died, everyone who'd suffered, had been for her. And she couldn't take it anymore. She stepped out from behind her brother, "Stop it! Please!"

Her brother tried to call to her, "What are you doing!?"

Myotismon blinked, "Who are you?"

Kari shook fearfully but found the resolve to talk, "I'm Kari. Hikari Kamiya. The eighth child."

"Kari! NO!" Gatomon leapt in front of her with her arms spread out. Wizardmon followed along closely and pointed his staff at the vampire. Myotismon laughed, "Ha, I see you think to betray me again."

"I'm not going to let you have Kari!" Gatomon said anxiously, her voice shaking as she spoke. Myotismon howled with laughter, "And I suppose you intend to fight me if I try?"

"Yes," Gatomon replied. Myotismon's laughter became a silent frown, "If you wish to die, then so be it!"

"Nova Blast!"

"Hand of Fate!"

"Magic Game!"

"Wing Blade!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!"

"Flower Cannon!"

"Horn Buster!"

The attacks all hit their mark and sent Myotismon back a few feet, "When will you fools learn that your attacks mean NOTHING!"

Myotismon stopped as a man whistled and fired two shots into the air. The whistle was loud and piercing enough that everyone had to cover their ears. The man had messy blonde hair, with sharp blue eyes, and markings on his cheeks like whiskers. Notably, there was a scar on his right cheek that made him look more fierce. He dressed in a black business suit with an orange dress shirt and a white sleeveless haori with red flames along the trim. A blue band wrapped around his left arm to bear a leaf symbol and his right hand extended into the air to hold a pistol. He winked at them and said, "Hey, so before you finish whatever you were going to say, can we just get to the part where you guys start fighting already?"

"Another useless human. Haven't I killed all of you yet?" Myotismon grunted. The man aimed the pistol at Myotismon and grinned, "No, but points for trying. Right?"

"If you're so excited for a quick death, then let me grant it-"

BANG!

Before Myotismon could finish, the man pulled the trigger and grazed Myotismon's arm with a bullet. Unlike before, where he'd simply shrugged off the bullets, he recoiled in pain, "GARGH! WHAT!? That hurt me!?"

"That hurt him?" Lillymon gasped, "How?"

"That's classified, but we can talk about it later. How about my place?" the man shot Lillymon an inviting look that took her aback. He added wink that just made it even creepier. He reached into his pocket and produced a tag on an end of string. A tag carrying a pink crest. Gatomon gasped, "The crest! Where did you get that!?"

"That's classified too, kitty," the man said. Myotismon was no longer amused, "No! I won't let you have it! GRIZZLY WING!"

"Catch!" was all the man managed to say. He threw it as hard as he could towards Kari before he was enveloped by bats. Kari took a few steps to adjust herself and caught in her arms. She did her best to ignore his scream, a blood curdling yelp as the bats ripped him apart and left a bloodied body on the ground. She gasped as she saw the body lying there and realized another person had died because of her - the thing she was trying to prevent. But now she had the crest and the digivice Tamer provided for her. If she could figure out how to use it, maybe she and Gatomon could defeat Myotismon. But what was she supposed to do? How were they supposed to work!? How could Light possibly be a trait?

"Protect Kari!" WereGarurumon shouted, leaping ahead of the others to tackle Myotismon. The other digimon followed him into battle and each tried to a lay a finger on the vampire digimon only to be tossed around like rag dolls. Gatomon trembled as she watched the fight unfold and even Kari shook with fear as the other digimon were tossed aside no matter how close they tried to get. Only Wizardmon was ignored by Myotismon, as if the vampire was afraid to even touch the small wizard. Not that the champion level could do anything to harm the ultimate.

The other digidestined cheered their partners on as they fought and it seemed like they could win. Inspired by their display, Gatomon ran to join the fray and Kari found the strength to cheer her digimon partner on, "Go Gatomon!'

"Lightning Paw!" Gatomon called out her attack. She managed to scratch Myotismon's face with her claw and that looked like the final straw for her former master. He grabbed her by the tail and threw her back at Kari.

"Gatomon!" Kari slid beside her partner, "Gatomon! Are you okay!?"

He drew his blood red whip again and wrapped it around WereGarurumon's arm. With a crack, he swung WereGarurumon over head into the other digimon, sending them sliding to the ground, "Crimson Lightning!"

Only Wizardmon and Greymon managed to avoid being hurt, as Myotismon seemed intent on not harming one and the other was experienced enough to avoid a simple attack. The other digimon crumpled into a heap around them, making the children gasp in shock. With his path clear, Myotismon targeted Kari and Gatomon, "Enough! This ends now! Grizzly Wing!"

Time slowed as the bats rushed forward towards Kari and Gatomon. The two were in harm's way and too frozen in terror to move. They prepared to accept their fate until Wizardmon appeared in front of them, "I won't let you harm my friend!"

"NO!" Gatomon shrieked. Kari closed her eyes, unable to watch the events transpire. Then she felt someone push her to the ground and heard her brother's voice, "Kari! I'll protect you!"

She peeked her eyes open to see someone standing over her, and she faintly recalled being in this situation before. Years ago, Tai used himself as a shield to protect her while two monsters battled it out. All she could remember from that time was screaming. Like before, there was screaming. But it wasn't her and it was soon drowned out by the shrieks of hundreds of bats flying over head.

She could only open her eyes when she heard the sound of bats finally die down. Gatomon was beside her, curled up in a ball in terror. She relaxed and peeked her eyes open when she was certain the noise stopped. Wizardmon was right next to the little cat, looking up in total shock. And when she looked up, she could see why. Tai, or Tamer as he was calling himself, rested over her with cuts on his skin and tears in his clothes. He looked weakly, but still managed to force a smile, "You guys alright?"

"Ta-Tamer," Kari mumbled.

"Why?" Wizardmon frowned, "You weren't supposed to. I wasn't supposed to-"

"I know," was all he said. He leaned back so that they could sit up and offered Kari a smile, "And it's Tai, isn't it?"

Kari could feel her eyes glazing over as he went on to say, "Something just came to me. I don't know where it came from, but it did. Like remembering a dream from a long time ago. A boy and a girl, siblings. And then two monsters fought and the boy threw himself in front of his sister to protect her. That's how it happened, right?"

Kari nodded carefully as he went on, "I don't know if I am your brother or not. But if that's what you want to call me, then that's the role I'll play."

"TAI!" Kari scrambled to her feet to hug her brother, burying her face in his chest to hide the tears now streaming down. He was sitting on his knees, so he was at just the right height for her to wrap her arms around his neck and hug him. He returned the hug, and appeared noticeably calmer than he did before. In spite of everything that happened, this was perhaps the one good thing to come out of this day - her brother was remembering himself. And unbeknownst to the the two of them, their crests came aglow: his was orange and the hers was pink. The light leapt forth from both their digivices and struck their digimon partners.

"Greymon! Digivolve to! MetalGreymon!"

"Gatomon! Digivolve to! Angewomon!"

"NNNNOOOOOO!" Myotismon roared in disgust. The light faded to reveal the two things Myotismon didn't want to see. Greymon had grown in size and sprouted wings. His bone skull was replaced with a metallic helmet with red hair growing out the base of his skull. The left arm was replaced with a robotic claw that was grafted at the shoulder onto a metal breastplate sunken into his flesh. His voice was more metallic and the flesh around the metallic grafts were blue - necrotized and dying.

Gatomon was the most remarkable change. Gone was the unassumingly small cat, replaced by a young woman with flowing blonde hair and a skin tight white clothes that left little to the imagination, draped in a pink feathery band. She wore armor: a golden breastplate, a metal helm that covered half her face, and a golden ring around her left ankle. Myotismon bore his fangs at the ultimate, "This was not supposed to be. You were not supposed to be here!"

"I was and I am," Angewomon declared, silencing the vampire. The other digidestined marveled at the seemingly impossible - another angel digimon before them. Myotismon was in a panic, "You can't be here! He's still alive! I never laid a finger on him! This wasn't how it was meant to be!"

"This is what it is meant to be," Angewomon replied.

"The conditions weren't met! You should not have been able to digivolve until Wizardmon sacrificed his life to save you!" Myotismon said through grit teeth. Tamer stopped hugging Kari to face him, swaying as he stood up and appearing sickly, "You're going to complain about things not going the way they're supposed to after everything you've done?"

"I WILL NOT DIE!" Myotismon roared. Angewomon asked, "You did all of this, took all of those lives, because you didn't want to die? Was it worth it in the end, knowing that you still came to this point?"

"OF COURSE! THERE ISN'T A SINGLE BEING IN THIS WORLD WHO WOULDN'T DO ANYTHING TO STAVE OFF THEIR IMPENDING DOOM. MORE SO WHEN YOU KNOW IT WILL HAPPEN!" Myotismon growled angrily, "I refused to accept my fate and was prepared to avoid it no matter what."

"But here we are, as we were always going to," Angewomon remarked, "You had every opportunity to do things different. You could have simply done nothing and locked yourself away in your castle, never coming to this world. But you did. You could have acted in kindness instead of evil, so that no one would want to kill you. But you didn't. You could have killed me and Wizardmon when you had the chance, but you didn't. My question is this: why?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you," Myotismon grunted, "Because you won't live long enough to enjoy it! Grizzly Wing!" The bats swarmed out of his hands again towards the digidestined and their digimon. Angewomon put her hands up and gathered a rainbow of light above her, "Heaven's Charm!"

The light was so bright that it banished back the fog around them so far back that they could see the clear sunny sky above. It also destroyed the bats before any of them could touch the others, and Myotismon sank to the ground, "NO! NO!"

He was weakened now, stricken by the light of the sun and the light of Angewomon's own heavenly light. But her light didn't do the same for the other digimon, who felt a renewed energy to fight. MegaKabuterimon commented, "The light! I feel my strength coming back!"

They rose up and surrounded Myotismon and the vampire's desperation finally reached his peak. He made one final desperate charge against Kari and Tamer, intent of ending this fight. Enough had changed, he could still defy destiny. He could still live!

"METAL CLAW!" MetalGreymon's metallic arm stretched out and stabbed the vampire in the chest, pinning him to the ground. Myotismon looked up at the two, Kari and Tamer, with hate and desperation. He was supposed to die here - that was his destiny, but he didn't want to die. He offered them one more manic smile and cursed them, "This isn't over. Do you understand me! I WILL NOT DIE!"

"It looks over to me," Tamer frowned, "MetalGreymon?"

The metallic claw flung Myotismon skyward, and the robot dinosaur exposed his chest. The metal places opened to reveal a pair of missiles and they fired off, "Giga Blaster!"

Myotismon caught the missile with his face, and it pushed him skyward. He howled against the digidestined and the deafening roar of the winds as they pushed him up. Garudamon called out to the others, "Everyone! Lend your strength to Angewomon! Wing Blade!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!"

"Hand of Fate!"

"Horn Buster!"

"Flower Cannon!"

The attacks merged in the light above Angewomon's head, and its rainbow glow turned white. She reached within and retracted an arrow of light. A bow formed in her other hand and she took aim, "Celestial Arrow!"

The arrow traced Myotismon and the missile into the sky, as they disappeared into the distance. An anxious silence followed with uncertainty. Was that it? Had they beaten him?

There was a loud bang and a flash of light, followed by a rush of wind so strong that it blew the fog away completely. Above their heads, a ball of fire lingered briefly before cooling down and vanishing into smoke. They'd done it, they'd defeated Myotismon.

Most of the digidestined and their digimon partners broke out in cheers. They all regressed to their In-Training forms, except Angemon who became Patamon, then hopped into their partners' arms in joy. Only Mimi was silent, standing resolute as she watched the ball of light above fade away. She seemed to be scanning the sky, wanting to be sure that Myotismon was gone. Tanemon assured the girl, "It's over Mimi! We beat him!"

Mimi only stopped looking skyward to glare at Tamer. He and Kari beamed at each other. The two looked genuinely sickly, but for different reasons. Even so, it did little to erase the smile from their faces. Kari spoke first, "I'm glad you remember Tai!"

"I'm not sure I did," he replied, "But I'm happy if you're happy."

The other digidestined witnessed the exchange between these two - Tamer diving in to throw them out of the way of Myotismon's attack. He'd been grazed slightly, but it was the enthusiasm behind his near heroic sacrifice that was joyful. Sora was the first to approach them, "So…does this mean we can call you Tai now?"

"No," his response was sharp and quick, "Just Kari."

"Whatever you say, Tai," said a Koromon mockingly, bouncing its way to their feet. Everyone but Kari and Tamer were taken aback. Bukamon remarked, "It's a Koromon!"

Joe gasped, "Where'd you come from?"

"What are you guys talking about? I've been right here the entire time," Koromon stuck its tongue out at them. Matt scratched his head, "You have? I don't remember that."

"Wow, thanks guys. After everything I did for you! I even saved your digimon back when Devimon had you guys cornered!" the Koromon frowned. Just from observing the Koromon, Izzy realized, "I get it! You're Agumon!"

"Bingo," Koromon said, bouncing along towards Tamer and Kari. Motimon folded his stubby arms, "I guess we're just not used to seeing you as something other than Agumon."

"Then you guys might not be used to me," said a yellow cat head as it bounced towards them. Its tail was marked by a pattern of purple rings going all the way down to the tip, but it was unmistakably a cat. Tamer blinked in surprise, "Huh. Koromon I'm used to but I never would've figured you could be...well, cute. I guess you're full of surprises Gatomon."

"Gatomon!?"

"It's Nyaromon now," the little cat mewed. There was an odd innocence to the former cat digimon's presence smaller self, one that Kari had difficulty resisting as she hugged the little cat playfully, "Oh wow. You're so cute. I just hope you and Miko get along."

"Can we worry about that after we address the more important matter at hand!?" Wizardmon said with alarm. The children looked at him curiously as he stormed towards Tamer, "What have you done?"

"Saved your life," he replied, "And beat Myotismon."

"Then why isn't the fog lifting!?" Wizardmon asked. It took a moment for them to realize that the fog was indeed returning. Despite Myotismon's defeat, the fog rolled back and covered the city - shrouding it in cold, pale color that swallowed up the son. Tamer looked around worriedly, "Provided everything that's happened today, I think we're about to see the end of the world."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Is Myotismon really defeated? What are the consequences for what has happened? Is Mimi going to beat Tamer senseless? Who was the blonde man who stepped in to help out? Find out in the next chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure due out in one week on Friday July 22nd at 5 PM CST. if you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I usually reply in a day or two. I also welcome constructive criticism, and speculation on the next chapter. Unless it's a guest review, then I'll reply in the next Author's notes. Going forward, I'd like to ask that guests start signing their reviews so I know who I'm talking to. At this point, I have no idea which guest I'm talking to anymore so the review needs to be signed in order for me to reply.

Now let's do lines for the next chapter:

"That was for Tokyo!" the man said grimly, offering the boy his hand again, "Come on. Let me help you up."

"Okay, rude. I can deal with this. And what is with all the weird questions today?" Tamer grumbled.

"ZOMBIE! KILL IT WITH VIOLENCE!" Koromon tackled the man in the chest.

Mimi's scowl grew when Sora finished so she added, "But I also think that it wouldn't hurt for you and Tamer to not be near each other right now."

"What are you?" Tamer asked.

* * *

 **Guest Review Responses:**

 **Guest 1:** (A) I referred to Star Wars and Avatar The Last Airbender. Star Wars ended with the Death Star blown up, the heroes getting medals, and a huge celebration or whatever. Avatar The Last Airbender gave everyone their happy endings, with the exception of the villains and a few characters who were…on the fence might be a good word for it. (B) I have no idea what you're talking about here. (C) Reader's have been assured of the fact since about Chapter 11. (D) Not really. At least, nothing that I don't think can't be covered by the other digimon series.

 **Guest 2:** The relationship between Burnt Leaf and DATS is best described as the relationship between the NSA and the CIA. They don't antagonize each other, it'd be more accurate to say that they try to avoid each other. That's all I'll say for now.

 **Guest 3:** First, never start with a command. Starting anything with 'listen up' is a rude way to address someone. Second, I handle requests if it comes from a reader I can PM on this site so that details can be hashed out. Especially if I think the idea is good. Otherwise, I politely decline and remind them that I am busy. In this case, I'm going to politely decline as I am busy and don't think I'd be able to produce anything worth reading in such a short time. Finally, I've said time again that everything was given considerable thought in the writing process. This includes whether or not to use the English or Japanese names. I went with the English names for a reason. That's all I'm going to say on this subject and I'm not going to address it again.


	33. From A Future to Be

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Good evening readers of The Tamer A Digimon Adventure! I want to give a big thank you to all of you who read and left reviews. As well, I want to give a bigger thanks to Ace Spiritwell for producing the cover art. Give their deviantart account and fanfiction a read. Why do I give them so much thanks? Because they produced some fan art that was so good that I needed to make it the cover art for the Tamer. I want to warn something about this chapter - it will be more expository than narrative, primarily to set the stage for the next events in the story and the spin off Burnt Leaf Declassified. Let's not waste any time! On to the story!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 33: From A Future to Be**

"But guys! What about him!?" Bukamon asked sheepishly, glancing over at the lifeless and bloodied corpse of the man who'd shown up to give Kari the crest. They'd never even learned his name, but he somehow knew what to do to help. There was a loud pop of smoke and the man's body was replaced with the splintered remains of a log and some wood chips. Their mouths collectively fell open as TK gasped, "No way! Was he a ninja!?"

"Nah. Never passed the graduation exam. Although I could give some a run for their money so I think they just didn't like me," the man said casually. The digidestined and their digimon jumped in surprise as a man they were convinced was dead just moments before suddenly appeared beside them. The blonde haired man's suit and sleeveless haori were ruined, but he appeared unharmed despite being swarmed by bats. He heaved a sigh, "It's a shame. I really liked this coat too. It was my favorite coat."

"He's alive!?" Sora gasped.

"He was dead! He was definitely dead!" Izzy yelped.

"Then what's that standing right there!?" Yokomon shrieked.

"ZOMBIE! KILL IT WITH VIOLENCE!" Koromon tackled the man in the chest, knocking the wind out of him and planting him on the ground, "AH! GET OFF ME DAMMIT!"

"Wait! Stop!" Tamer shouted at the two.

"Ah, he's got me!" Koromon panicked as the man threw the little digimon back, "Don't let him eat my brains!"

"I'm not a zombie," the man dusted himself off and straightened himself off. He stretched and twisted his body, cracking his knuckles and joints with each movement. Once he'd straightened himself out, he faced Tamer, "Hello Digimon Tamer."

"How do you know that name?" Tamer asked curiously, starting to sway and needing to lean on Kari for support, "And why…am I getting…a headache just from looking at you?"

"Allow me to explain," the man said as he stepped towards Tamer. He offered his hand in a gesture of a handshake, and Tamer returned it. Then the man yanked his hand in and decked him in the stomach so hard that he fell back on the ground, "OW!"

"Tai!" Kari gasped while Nyaromon ran along side her, "What are you doing?"

"That was for Tokyo!" the man said grimly, offering the boy his hand again, "Come on. Let me help you up."

The Tamer took his hand again and tried pulling himself up, only to be dropped when he was halfway there, "And that was for me. Come on."

He offered his hand again to the Tamer, although the boy was still hesitant to take it. The man sighed, "I'm not going to drop you again, come on. Let me help you up."

The man pulled Tamer up and helped him dust himself off. The two stared at each other tensely, both eyeing the other up as if looking for weaknesses. Mimi groaned, "Grow up! Stop trying to act all macho!"

They both looked at Mimi and nodded. Tamer began, "Who are you?"

"And where did you get the tag?" Wizardmon asked. The man smirked, "That's classified. And I'm only talking to these two."

He pointed at both Tamer and Koromon when he said that, "Let's talk over there."

He pointed to a spot across the street and started walking, motioning for them to follow but not waiting for them. They all watched him go across the street and Wizardmon stated what they were all thinking, "I don't like the look of any of this."

"What do you think? Should we trust him?" Koromon asked. Tamer shook his head, "No. But I have questions and he has answers. Besides, you're curious too."

"Yeah. I guess I am."

"We're going with you," Izzy said, "I think we all have questions and we'd like to get some answers out of him."

"No. You guys stay here. He said only wanted to talk to us. He may not say anything if you all follow," Tamer said plainly. Izzy started to protest so Tamer cut him off, "Look. Izzy. This guy did something that no normal human should have been able to do. He hurt a digimon. A digimon on Myotismon's level. You know how powerful he was, you saw it for yourselves."

He looked straight at the digimon when he said that, "If he can hurt Myotismon, what the hell can he do to you guys?"

The digimon gulped and the duo went to join the stranger across the street. They watched with wondrous curiosity about what they were talking about. As always, there were more questions and no answers to go with it. Joe bemoaned that fact, "Do you guys ever feel like we're left out of the loop?"

"When it comes to those two? Yes, all the time," Bukamon answered grimly. Wizardmon added, "You lot have absolutely no idea how bad things can get."

"Say Wizardmon! What was that stuff you were saying earlier?" Motimon asked the wizard anxiously. He adjusted his hat to conceal his face, "Forgive me, I owe an explanation. When you've kept as many secrets as I have for as long as I did, you start to lose track of who knows what. I was agitated, because I was not supposed to survive that encounter with Myotismon. Long ago, while my allegiances were still with Gatomon _and_ Myotismon, I was assigned to study the gate to other worlds. As I did, I came to see how cruel and terrible Myotismon could be. I wanted nothing more than to free Gatomon from her prison. One day, I found something on the gate while I working on it and glimpsed the fringes of reality; the future as it should happen. During our battle with Myotismon, I was supposed to die protecting Kari and Gatomon. That was meant to be the catalyst that triggered her crest and allowed Gatomon to digivolve, granting her the strength to defeat Myotismon."

Nyaromon gasped, "Wizardmon! You weren't going to-"

"I was. Only that didn't happen. Tamer threw us all out of harm's way at the last moment - saving my life and altering the future in the process," the wizard's tone was more somber and defeated as he spoke.

"You mean like my mom?" Mimi said coldly. Wizardmon lowered his head almost to a bow and explained, "I give you my sincerest apologies. Things were never supposed to go that far. I'm sorry."

"Save it," Mimi grunted. She was still seething with anger and shooting icy stares, so Izzy tried to change the subject, "But Myotismon died, though, right? Isn't that what was _supposed_ to happen? What's the problem?"

"Izzy, the whole of existence is different because I'm alive while hundreds of people who should be alive are dead instead. Many of them were not supposed to die - like Mimi's mother. Meanwhile, someone like me who was supposed to die is still alive and well. The ramifications of such a change can have disastrous effects. Perhaps not immediately but in the long term - who knows?" Wizardmon explained with a warning tone. Izzy nodded understandingly, "So…something like a butterfly effect?"

"Correct. But on a more…cosmic scale," Wizardmon pointed at Tamer across the street, and they noticed him swaying slightly, "He may be trying to down play its effects but destiny has been taken on a divergent path. Those two are the only ones left to safeguard the future that was supposed to be. Koromon draws on the strength of The Tamer to digivolve and now he's permanently handicapped. I hate it to say, but I'd feel more comfortable if those two could give it their all instead of limping through it. Things will only get worse from here."

"Who cares about him?" Mimi grunted angrily.

"The city is wrecked! How can things get worse?" Matt's tone was sarcastic. Wizardmon chuckled and tipped his hat back up, "Another prophecy: The sky will be darkened by the wings of many bats. The fallen people will invoke the name of the undead Digimon king and when the clock strikes the hour of the beast, the undead king will reveal himself in his true form as the beast. Then angels will shoot arrows of hope and light at the loved ones of those they've been sent to protect, and a miracle will happen. Please always recycle."

"Another prophecy? What's with all these prophecies!?" Tsunomon frowned. Yokomon chimed in, "Yeah, and why would they add that last part about recycling?"

Wizardmon's explanation sounded made up as he provided it to them, "Yes, Tamer's people became more conservative with their resources towards the end of their existence. Recycling and reusing what little they had became key to their strategies when it came to winning the war. So, with all the prophecies they documented, they added propaganda to aid their war effort."

"Wait a second, you said they documented the prophecies! So these prophecies came from Tamer's people!" Izzy concluded excitedly, "And the gate was in _their_ castle if I remember correctly. So that means they must have used the gate to look into future and record what they saw as prophecies. But isn't that dangerous, to leave information about the future just lying around for anyone to see? I mean - this is just an educated guess - but I'm assuming that's why Myotismon did…well, all this. He was trying to prevent a prophecy about his death."

Wizardmon confirmed with a nod, "Yes. But it's better not to think too heavily on this subject."

"But all of this happened because-"

"Stop. Don't," Wizardmon's tone became warning, "It's better not to dwell on this line of thought, lest you become like Myotismon. His obsession with the prophecy drove him to do whatever it took to prevent his death, and in so doing fulfilled it."

"So should we be trying to do what the prophecy said inste-"

"No. Forget about the prophecies and do what you were called to do. Save the Digital World and the Real World," Wizardmon argued.

"But it was a prophecy that told us to save the Digital World," Sora stated, earning some agreement from the other digidestined. Wizardmon sighed, "And that is the only prophecy you should concern yourselves with."

"So should we or shouldn't we-"

"ENOUGH!" Wizardmon groaned, "Just save the Digital World and your world."

"And the one about Myotismon that you just said," Bukamon added snidely, which got him a death glare from Wizardmon.

"Okay. Well the bats and Undead Digimon king refer to Myotismon, right? Well, we figure out what the hour of the beast is and we can prepare ourselves for when that rolls around," Izzy affirmed excitedly, until Motimon pointed out, "Okay? But where should we even start looking?"

"Asking those two would be a good place to start," Mimi grumbled, pointing at the two as they walked back across the street. It seemed they were done talking with the strange man as he'd disappeared into the fog.

* * *

Koromon followed his partner and the strange man across the street. He had more of the strange human language written on the back of his white haori in bright red colors. When they were out of earshot, Tamer began the questioning, "Okay. You know my name. What's yours?"

"Ground rules first. One question, one answer. You ask a question, I give an answer. Then I ask a question and you give an answer. That sound fair?" the man asked. Koromon eyed the man carefully, weary of trusting the possible zombie but Tamer agreed anyway, "Yes."

"And we only get three. Time is a factor here for you and me. Deal?" the man stated matter of factly. Koromon added, "He's really taking control of this conversation isn't he?"

"Yeah he is. I don't like not knowing what's going on," Tamer replied, "But what choice do we have in this? Deal."

"Okay, your question first. Who am I? That information is classified and I'm authorized kill anyone who learns that information without clearance. It's been an eventful life, or it was until everyone who knew died. Anyway, you'll need something to call me. Since you go by a title instead of a name, you can call me Hokage. I'm the Director of Operation at Burnt Leaf," the man answered, folding his arms and grinning playfully. Koromon frowned at several name drops that meant nothing, as well as the often seen confusion over Tamer's name, "The Digimon Tamer is not a title. That's his name. So what's yours?"

"Hey! You had your question and I gave my answer. It's my turn now," the man interrupted the little digimon, "How much longer until we meet again?"

Koromon blinked and looked at his partner, "You know this guy?"

"Never met him before. He didn't even give us his real name. And I have no idea what he's talking about," Tamer frowned. Hokage shook his head and sighed, "That answers my question. And explains that thing you said the first time I met you."

"Well, what was-" Koromon started to say until Tamer cut him off, "Stop. He answered the question so it's our turn now. We only get three. Don't waste our second asking what that means; we have other things we need to worry about. For example, where did you get that gun? That tech, the way it hurt Myotismon, the bolt of light. It's beyond anything you should have, so where'd you get it?"

"You," Hokage replied, "You gave us this tech. Well, you gave it to me when I first met you. All of this technology - we got it off this little thing here."

He reached into his pocket and produced an old digivice, dented and rusted around the edges but still retaining enough shape to resemble a digivice. Tamer retrieved his own to compare the two, holding them close together and watching them spark wildly with electricity. It was almost as if the two didn't want to be anywhere near each other. He pulled his digivice away and staggered. Koromon asked, "Hey! Tamer, you okay?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a headache. It's the same digivice-"

"-from different points in time. Yeah, that's what you told me you'd say," Hokage nodded, "It took a long time to reverse engineer, but we did it. Every one of our operatives has a gadget based on the technology from this 'digivice'. We use that to protect the boundary between worlds from this side, per your instruction. This leads to my next question. It's about one of the directives you gave us. Who is The Trickster?"

"The Trickster? Was he an Agent like you?" Koromon asked. Tamer shrugged, "Haven't heard of him either. I didn't know all of them Koromon, just a few close friends and they're all dead. It's not like the rest of them wanted to talk to me anyway. Okay, my turn. We only have one question left. What to ask? What to ask? Hm…"

Koromon anxiously started blurting out every question "Ask him how he knew to come here! No, ask him how he knew to find the crest. Actually, ask him what Burnt Leaf is! No, no, wait! Ask him-"

"What are you?" Tamer asked. Koromon booed Tamer's question while he went on to add, "You died, but then you came back to life. And…you give me a big headache."

"Yeah, I do that," Hokage replied, "I don't understand the explanation myself. Actually, that was my last question. What did you do to me? Because it's been hundreds of years since you and I met each other - a long time since you did whatever it was you did. Since then I haven't been able to die. Not from old age, starvation, strangulation, decapitation, immolation, impalement…you name it, it can't kill me. I just wake up with a headache. And if you don't know…well, I guess I'll have to wait until next time."

"Next time? What next time? Why don't you just tell us now!?" Koromon shouted at Hokage. Hokage flinched, "Wow, you've got a loud voice, huh?"

"Well, you haven't really told us anything useful," Tamer frowned, "Maybe I should start shouting too."

Hokage smirked playfully, "Sorry. I like screamers but I'm not into older men."

Koromon blinked and noticed Tamer was paler than usual. He replied, "Are you-"

"Nope," Hokage's answer was quick and definitive, "Besides. I could say the you've been just as helpful to me. I was hoping I'd get some answers but I guess I should've known better. You said it yourself: the second time you meet me will be my first time meeting you. The second time I meet you will be your first time meeting me. The third time we meet, everything will make sense. And the world will end."

"Aren't you a bundle of joy," Koromon sighed.

"Yeah, that's not creepy at all," Tamer commented. Hokage smirked, "You have no idea. Anyway, I can't wait to find out what the last part means. I've been doing this a long time. I'm getting very tired. No, that's not the right word. Bored. I'm bored of this. Anyway, I'll see you the third time around."

"Wait, I still have questions," Tamer shouted as Hokage started walking away. Without looking back, he replied, "So do I. Guess we'll just have to wait until the end to figure out what all of this means. You have to go back to what you're doing! Take care you two."

He raised his hand to wave at them and disappeared into the fog, his white haori swaying with each step. Tamer popped an eyebrow, "Well, that told us less than nothing."

"I never thought I'd see the day that someone could out cryptic you," Koromon frowned, amazed that Tamer genuinely had no idea what was going on for what seemed like the first time in his life. His long lived partner scooped him up and commented, "Come on. We should probably get back to the others."

"And Kari. Right Tai?" Koromon said with a smug grin, trying to get under his partner's skin. Tamer sighed, "Please don't do that Koromon. It's getting annoying."

"But that is who you are, right? I mean they say you look like him and they're all convinced that's who you are! You even said that a memory came back to you!" Koromon said, "You are Tai. Why not just embrace it?"

"Because, there are gaps in that memory Koromon. Big gaps that need filling or they might as well be someone else's memory," Tamer frowned.

* * *

Kari petted Nyaromon playfully, hugging the cute little digimon close as her brother and Koromon came back. They were talking loudly to themselves, "I think he's lying though, Koromon."

"You have to admit Tai, that sounds like something you would say and do," Koromon said back. She was about to go meet her brother, but was stopped by Wizardmon, "Don't go yet."

"But Mr. Wizardmon. I-"

Wizardmon interrupted her, "I understand that you may be happy to have your 'brother' back in some sense of the word, but right now I think Mimi over there needs to talk to him more than anyone else. It's not going to be nice, so it'd be best if you kept your distance for a while."

"You think it'll be that bad?" Nyaromon asked her old friend. His answer, or lack thereof was all the answer they needed. Kari looked at her brother worriedly as Mimi stormed towards him.

"Okay, I'm kicking you if you say it again," he grumbled. He stopped when he realized Mimi was standing in front of him and she asked, "Hey! Jerks! What's the hour of the beast?"

"Okay, rude. I can deal with this. And what is with all the weird questions today?" Tamer grumbled. It took a moment, but the frowned turned into a goofy smile, "I can deal with this. And what is with all the weird questions today? Okay. Which hour of the beast?"

"What do you mean which hour of the beast?" Mimi asked, "The one in the prophecy that Wizardmon told us!"

"Yeah, there are a lot of prophecies that foretell the return of some dangerous beast that will bring ruin to the world at some oddly specific hour. I always thought that was weird. Hey, I'm going to destroy your world at eight o'clock! No I'm not saying if it's the morning or night! And no, I'm not telling you what day! I want you guys to know it's coming which is why I'm not telling you anything useful! It's always been weird. You'll have to be more specific," Tamer said matter of factly. Mimi stamped her foot on the ground, "The one about Myotismon!"

"Oh…um…six-six-six," Tamer replied grimly, "Six seconds and six minutes after six o'clock."

"Thank you," Mimi nodded, before slapping him as hard as she could. The sound was deafening, and Kari gasped as he older brother Tamer recoiled in pain, "OW!"

"THAT WAS FOR MOM!" Mimi snapped angrily. Raising her hand again to slap him, only to be grabbed from behind by both Sora and Izzy, "Mimi!"

Her breathing was heavy and the scowl on her face grew with resentment towards Tamer. She struggled against the other two kids enough that Tanemon and Motimon had to jump in to hold her back, "MY MOM IS DEAD BECAUSE-"

"And that's my fault?" Tamer replied, "Or did you guys forget that I wanted to wait for Wizardmon and Gatomon to come back?"

Mimi began, "You said-"

Tamer angrily cut her off, "Said what? 'Go! Good luck.'? Or did you miss the sarcasm when I said it. You were the ones who were gung-ho about going out there, not me! Did you honestly think Myotismon _wouldn't_ retaliate when you guys started running around being heroes? That he didn't have plans for when you guys did that?"

"We were trying to help which is a lot more than what you've ever been!" Mimi hissed angrily, still trying to break free of the others. Tamer folded his arms, "And how'd that work out for you?"

With that, the other digidestined loosened their grip on Mimi enough for her to break free and nail a punch. Tamer reeled back, massaging the spot and shouting, "STOP THAT!"

Mimi followed it up with a kick to his shin before the other digidestined could pull her back, "STOP BEING A JERK!"

"Mimi! Calm down!" her partner pleaded, "This isn't like you."

Mimi took a few deep breaths and finally relaxed slightly. Tamer continued massaging his injury and shook his head, "I'm sorry…about your mom I mean."

This helped Mimi relax some more and she was able to back off, but there was still a deep seated resentment in her eyes. The others let her go once they were certain she wasn't going to try to hit him anymore, although they would've been okay with just one more hit. An awkward silence followed as he bemoaned getting hit so many times, before Izzy finally asked, "So what does the rest of the prophecy mean then? The fallen people will invoke the name of the undead king or whatever. And the angels of hope and light shoot arrows at the loved ones their supposed to protect. So what are we supposed to do?"

"You're a lot better off not-"

"OH COME OF-" Mimi started to yell, only for Izzy to cover her mouth, "Mimi, please."

She shouted something through his hand but it was muffled. After a few more moments, she fell quiet and Izzy took his hand off her mouth. He continued, "She's right though. How many more secrets are you going to keep? How many more people are going to die? How many things have to go wrong before you start letting us in?"

"Funny, Sora and Joe were having the same conversation with me back at Kari's place before you guys ran off," Tamer grumbled, "And to be honest, yes, I did tell them how things were supposed to play out. At least the way I know they're supposed to. And look-"

"Tamer," Koromon finally snapped, "Don't rub it in, you're being a jerk again."

"Right, right," Tamer nodded, running a hand through his hair, "Let me think here. Um…wait a second, you said Wizardmon told you that prophecy."

"He said he saw the future, remember?" Koromon reminded him, but this didn't put Tamer's mind at ease, "I wasn't thinking about it at the time, but how far did he see?"

He walked past the others towards her and Wizardmon, "Wizardmon, I didn't ask before because we were in a rush, but how far into the future did you see?"

"Does it even matter anymore?" Wizardmon replied, "I should be dead. Instead I'm not."

"If you're going to complain about it, then I'll just kill you here and now," her brother pointed his digivice at the wizard. This action surprised them all, even Koromon was caught off guard by the sudden statement, "Tamer!"

"It won't fix what you've done. I was supposed to die. Instead I'm alive," Wizardmon stated, "Any attempt to get us back on course by killing me won't resolve that. If anything, the consequences of that may be worse than if you'd simply let me live."

His sigh was long and drawn out, but he agreed, "You're right. It probably wouldn't. But how far into the future?"

"Enough to know that I should be dead for what happens next," Wizardmon said again. Tamer massaged his temple in frustration, "I don't know who's worse, you or Hokage."

"So what is supposed to happen next?" Mimi asked impatiently with her arms crossed, drumming her fingers to some unseen rhythm. Realizing that he'd left their question unanswered, he said, "Oh yeah! So here's how the next part is supposed to play out: Kari, Nyaromon, TK, Patamon, Matt, Tsunomon, Izzy, and Motimon get to stay. Everyone else go do…I don't know, be somewhere that isn't here."

Mimi was not too happy to hear that, "Oh no, I'm not going to do that! I want to be here for when we kick Myotismon's butt! Screw what should and shouldn't happen, I say we just gang up on him when he shows up!"

"Mimi, please listen to me this time," Tamer sounded almost pleading as he said those words, "You can't be here for this next part. This is something for us to do. If anything, I'm actually giving you a free pass to do anything you want because you don't need to be here!"

"Then what should we do?" Mimi asked impatiently. Tamer motioned out towards the city, "Myotismon's army is still out there. The digimon that didn't want to serve him will want to go home. The ones who did aren't going to go down without a fight, and you can bet they're going to take as many with them as they can. And I bet you that there are a lot of people out there who need help. But more important, you should consider going to check on your pare…dad."

"Nice save," Koromon's said loudly. Mimi mumbled something that sounded like a yes, and stepped back. Then she turned to Sora, "What do you think Sora?"

"Huh? Me?" Sora asked, caught off guard by the sudden question.

"Well, I trust you more than I trust him right now. What do you think we should do?" Mimi asked. Sora stammered as she was put on the spot, "I think…Tamer, uh, Tai, er, whatever…is going to do whatever he says is supposed to happen."

Mimi's scowl grew when Sora finished so she added, "But I also think that it wouldn't hurt for you and Tamer to not be near each other right now."

Mimi appeared agreeable for the first time, "You're right about that part."

"So where is this prophecy supposed to happen?" Matt asked, finally speaking for the first time since they'd defeated Myotismon. Tamer shrugged, "I'd guess right here since this is where Myotismon was beaten. We should probably get everyone else out while we get ready for it. Speaking of which-"

"Kids!" Matt's father called out to them as he ran out of the ruined entrance of the broadcast station. He was joined by the two mothers. Kari's mom hugged her little girl and smothered her in kisses, repeating how glad she was to see her alive while Sora's mom simply hugged her. TK ran up to hug his father, while he continued, "We sent out the broadcast. With any luck, someone will have seen it and the military will show up. Huh? Who's the new kid?"

"Hi there! I'm the Digimon Tamer and this is my partner Koromon," he introduced himself with a wave.

"Wait, you're the Digimon Tamer that Matt was talking about? I was expecting someone less…well, short and…scrawny."

"Hey! Watch it young man. You should respect your elders," Tamer pointed out, earning him a flat, "What?"

"Just nod and agree with him dad. It goes a lot faster if you do," Matt told his father, who was genuinely perplexed as Tamer went on to say, "You said you sent out a broadcast. Did you call for help?"

"Yeah, the whole city was under attack. There were monsters everywhere so we called for help!" his dad explained. Tamer continued to frown, "That complicates things. We may want to lie low when the military show up - at least until Myotismon comes back."

"Myotismon? Which one was Myotismon? Was he the one I ran over with my car?" Matt's dad said worriedly. Matt nodded the confirmation, "Yeah, the one who took mom and the other parents hostage. We beat him for now but we think he's going to come back."

Tamer blinked, "Sorry. Repeat that. What?"

"What?"

"That last part," Tamer pointed at the dad.

"Which one was Myotismon?" he repeated.

"After that."

"Was he the one I ran over with my car?" the dad repeated, even more confused than before. Koromon joined in, "You ran over Myotismon?"

"He really did! With his car and everything!" TK shouted happily. Tamer snorted, then covered his mouth like he was trying to hide a laugh. Koromon turned around and hid his face behind his large floppy ears. Despite that the two eventually burst with laughter. Between fits of laughter, Koromon managed to blurt out, "You ran him over with a car!"

"I won't even ask how," Tamer had to cover his gut, "Oh…my stomach…too much…it's too much."

"I'm glad you two can find something funny in all of this," Joe adjusted his glasses and stared with disapproval. Tamer and Koromon did their best to calm themselves down, "Sorry."

"You said Myotismon was coming back. What happened? Where'd he go?" TK and Matt's dad asked. Tamer groaned, "Yeah, I'm not explaining this again. You need to get out of here, is there anyone still inside?"

"Yeah."

"Tell them to get out of here then. Because that building isn't going to be there in a little bit," Tamer ordered. Izzy finally spoke, "You still haven't told us what's supposed to happen next."

"Myotismon comes back, you guys know that part. The angels, obviously that means Angemon and Angewomon. I'm not sure about the other parts, though," he explained to them. Motimon asked, "What about Izzy and Matt? TK and Kari I get but why them?"

"Izzy's the smart one so he can help figure out the rest of the prophecy and TK isn't going anywhere without Matt tagging along," he said with a hint of accusation that made Matt retort, "Says the guy who jumped in to save his sister."

Kari squeaked at the mention of that incident, prompting Nyaromon to ask, "So I'm confused. Are you two actually related or not?"

Wizardmon ushered them along, "Getting back to the matter of hand. Can you please go now? We've already detoured things far enough from the course of events that should have happened. It'd be better to focus on getting ourselves back on track."

"I'm not going anywhere without Kari!" Kari's mom stated, "I'm staying right here!"

"Yeah, to be honest, I wasn't comfortable with leaving Matt and TK out here. I think I'm going to stay here this," Matt's dad said matter of factly, to Tamer's annoyance, "No! You guys can't be here. That-"

"-isn't how it's supposed to happen. I think I got the gist of it," Matt's dad sighed, "The way I figure, it shouldn't matter if I'm here or not since I'm not part of any of…this."

He motioned to their group as a whole and Kari's mom jumped on the chance to drive his point home, "He's right! We're not part of any of this so why should it matter what we do?"

"Little things don't matter, right Tamer?" Koromon reminded the boy. They could see the growing frustration on his face before he sighed and said, "Fine, they can stay. But the rest of you have to get out of here."

"But what-"

"JUST GO!" Tamer shouted impatiently. Joe raised an eyebrow and frowned, "I was going to say 'what about the people inside the station?' We can't just leave them there. We need to evacuate the building."

Joe pointed to the broadcast station behind them. With so many people inside, there was no telling how long it would take to get them all to safety. The clock was ticking, but they had no idea to what time. Koromon frowned, "Oh right."

* * *

"Where am I?" Ken was cold and the world around him was dark. Ahead of him was a dim glow that he followed only because it was the warmest thing before him. He found himself standing in what looked like a hospital room. Before him were two beds, both crowded by people. On one bed lay himself resting peacefully while connected to several machines that only periodically beeped. Ken blinked, unsure of what to think as he saw himself lying there, "It's me."

His gaze moved to the other bed where he saw his brother surrounded by nurses taking turns pushing against his chest and blowing forcefully into his mouth. They looked tired, as if they'd been doing this for some time. Ken reached out to his brother, "SAM!"

But he was fixed in placed. He tried running but the faster he ran the further his brother's bed seemed to be, "SAM! SAM!"

"Kenny?" his brother's voice said behind him. Ken spun on a dime and saw his older brother standing there behind him in the darkness, "Sam?"

Sam was thin and it seemed like the dark was trying to swallow him. He was pale and his eyes were sunken, but he appeared peaceful. At least, more so than the one lying on the bed. The little boy felt a cold chill, "Sam, what's going on? Where are we?"

"It's nothing Kenny. It's just a dream," his brother said softly, "I'm glad you're alright."

His older brother's eyes started to close, and he began fading with the darkness.

"SAM!" Ken called out to his older brother. The darkness wrapped around him pulled further into the depths. Ken reached out to his spectral sibling and called out, "SAM! What's happening to you?"

"I don't know," he said solemnly, "But I'm tired. I'm so tired. I think I'm just going to take a nap."

As he said those words, the darkness wrapped itself around himself in black tendrils and he became more transparent. His brother was almost gone now but Kenny gave chase to him, "Wait! Sam! Come back! Don't leave me! Sam! SAM!"

He screamed and called for his brother to come back, only to watch him fade further into darkness. As he vanished, he heard a steady beeping that grew louder and louder until it became a single long steady buzz. The little boy felt the cold give way to warmth as he called out one last time, "SAM! PLEASE!"

He opened his eyes and found himself lying in the hospital bed. He was tired and his head felt fuzzy, but he had enough of his senses to make out the long drone of a buzzer. It continued loudly, giving him a headache, but he could still overhear a nurse say, "He's flatlined. Doctor?"

"I'm calling it. Time is 1725," the doctor said aloud as he wrote it on a chart. Ken turned his head to the side. He was surrounded by medical staff, but he could make out his brother's body lying on a bed. He had to summon all of his strength to say one word, "Sam?"

* * *

It was TK who came up with the idea to quickly evacuate the TV station, and it was surprisingly sneaky for a boy his age. He'd simply run inside and pulled the nearest fire alarm, which sent everyone running outside in a panic. His dad wanted to ask where he came with such an idea but decided he was better off not knowing.

While the giant rampaging monsters were a danger in themselves, being trapped inside a burning building was a certain doom. Naturally, no one stayed outside for long out of fear that the rampaging digimon may return and they hid inside nearby buildings.

The digidestined moved a few blocks down the road to avoid causing a stir when their digimon finally digivolved. Yokomon digivolved to her champion level to escort the rest back - Sora, Mimi, Tanemon, Joe, and Bukamon. Joe wished them luck and Kari waved them off. Izzy watched the giant bird disappear into the fog and asked aloud, "Do you think Mimi'll be okay?"

"Well, you could always comfort her Izzy," Tamer elbowed the boy. Izzy's face didn't flush as it normally did and he annoyedly asked, "So what now?"

"We figure out the rest of the prophecy," Tamer said, producing his digivice, "It's 5:30. Which gives us either half an hour or half a day."

"Really? There's no way it's already that late. It was morning just a little while ago!" Matt said disbelievingly. As he uttered those words, a colony of bats flew by overhead and began circling around the broadcast station. Tsunomon murmured, "I think it's safe to say that we have half an hour."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** The bestial king is returning! Will they solve the prophecy in time? Have we seen the last of Mimi hitting Tamer? The digidestined have now begun a dark path - will they be okay? Find out in the next chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure due out in two weeks on Friday August 5th at 5 PM CST. if you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I usually reply in a day or two. I also welcome constructive criticism, and speculation on the next chapter. Unless it's a guest review, then I'll reply in the next Author's notes. As a reminder, guests need to sign their reviews in order to get a response.

Now let's do lines from the next chapter:

Greymon yelped, trying to press against the massive claws, "I can't…break free!"

"I want to poke it with a stick," TK looked on excitedly.

"NO!" Matt scoffed.

His dad looked up at the sound of his voice, "Joe?"

"Do I look like I care about what he said?" Mimi growled.

* * *

 **Guest Review Responses:**

 **DigiGuest11:** Thank you for signing your guest review as I requested. I've made it a point since writing a previous fanfiction to have regularly schedule updates in order to keep readers from having lengthy waits. Honestly, you're right. Too many fanfictions don't do that which means too many of them could go weeks to years without another update. Anyway, I hope the chapter was to your liking and I hope to hear more from you soon.

 **KRUSA1:** Thank you for signing your guest review. In response, there is very little risk in your account being stolen just because you left a review. You're more likely to lose your account if you publicly post your password, or if you use a single password for all your online accounts and one of those accounts gets hacked. And second, with as often as they appear - it's preferable if you do sign the reviews or even sign in to your account when you do. Authors enjoy feedback from readers and I'm sure readers prefer direct feedback from writers.


	34. The Undead King

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hello readers of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure! To those of you just joining the story, following and favoriting, thanks for giving the story a chance. A really big thanks to everyone who left a review, I'm always happy to hear your guys/gals' thoughts. I also want to give a big thanks to Ace Spiritwell for producing the coverart for this fanfiction! I want to apologize in advance if you notice more grammar errors in this chapter than you have in any previous. That is my fault as I only had time to do one round of editing before I posted this story. Okay, let's start the next chapter of The Tamer!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 34: The Undead King**

Birdramon set down just outside the police station, where she was met with more officers running forward with guns. They only stood down because they recognized the others riding on her back and allowed them past the barricade. While they were away, the police organized the bodies and lined them up and down the street. They were going through the process of tagging the bodies while others were covered with white sheets to keep them out of view. There were some people within the station trying to go out to find their loved ones but the police urged them to stay inside until they were certain that there were no more monsters.

Mimi scanned the area anxiously for her father but he was nowhere in sight. There were only more police searching the block for survivors and moving out the bodies of the dead. He must've been inside the station and she stared at the building blankly while one of the officers approached her, "You're that girl from before. What happened? Where are the others?"

She didn't answer his question, instead asking, "Where's my dad?"

The officer looked at her anxiously before pointing off to one of the rows of covered bodies. Her father was hunched over beside one, still in grief and despair as he stared at what was his wife and her mother just hours ago. She walked towards them without another world, followed along by Tanemon. Among the police officers, Joe spotted his father in his lab coat checking the wounded and treating them with a first aid kit, "Dad!"

His dad looked up at the sound of his voice, "Joe?"

He waved them to come over, which Joe followed without further command while Bukamon followed close behind. As he got close, he saw the patient his father was working on - a uniformed officer whose arm was snapped in half below the elbow. Joe's dad finished wrapping a splint to the arm and instructed him to avoid using his arm until he could get to a hospital for proper treatment. The officer thanked his father and was helped back to the station by another. Before he started tending to another patient, Joe's dad spoke, "I'm glad to see that you're alright Joe."

"I'm happy that you're alright too dad but shouldn't you be at the clinic…or the hospital?"

"I was. I'd just gotten of surgery when this phantom showed up and threatened to kill everyone if I didn't go with it. There's a blur between that and waking up here, tied up and held hostage by a bunch of ghosts. Your friends tried to save us but…well, I'm sure you know how that ended."

"We heard," Bukamon said flatly. His father grunted, "I was curious. I didn't see you with the others. Where were you?"

"We were with Kari, she was the one who was supposed to defeat Myotismon," Joe explained, "But she couldn't do it without the crest, so we were protecting her while Gatomon and Wizardmon went to get it."

His father sighed, "And did you protect her?"

"Yes dad," Joe said. He nodded and didn't say another word. Joe adjusted his glasses nervously while Bukamon looked at the two curiously. He just didn't get the relationship between these two. His dad sensed something was awry when the two didn't go anywhere and asked, "Is there something on your mind?"

"Mimi's mom is dead and…she's not the same. She's acting out, getting angry at everyone. I'm not sure whether to talk to her or give her space," Joe said, "And I'm wondering if things would have been different if I'd gone with them instead of staying to protect Kari. Would Mimi's mom still be alive? Could I have helped? I mean, in the end, all we did was-"

"Don't do that to yourself, son," Doctor Kiddo said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "I was hoping you and I wouldn't have this conversation until you were older. You've helped out at my clinic so you've seen a few things. But you haven't seen everything that you can see in healthcare. People die all the time. You can do your best to save them but that doesn't mean they'll make it. There will be plenty of days like that. There's no point in getting worked up over something you couldn't have helped or worrying about what-ifs. It'll distract you from what's right in front of you. That's what you should focus on. Do you understand?"

"I do. But then what can I do to help Mimi? No one's really been able to talk to her without her biting their head off," Joe explained. His dad murmured, "Everyone has different ways of coping. Some people get angry, others want to be alone, a rare few completely shut down. It's hard to say with her, but if I had to guess - I'd say she's in the anger stage of grief."

"Hold on, what's this about stages? She's upset right?" Bukamon finally spoke up, "Shouldn't we do something to help her feel better?"

"It's not that simple. It would take a long time to explain, but the short version is that there are five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These stages can happen in any order and some never happen at all, but acceptance is usually the final stage. Each person is unique and, in your friend's case, I think her anger is her trying to sort out her own feelings. She's overwhelmed and is still trying to process it. The best thing right now might be to give her space. When she's ready to talk about it, she will," Joe's dad said assuringly. Joe and Bukamon looked off to Mimi, who'd quietly joined her father to stare down blankly at the covered body of their loved one. Joe's dad encouraged him to give her space, but it wasn't right - seeing her depressed like this. He wanted to help her, he just didn't know what he could say to make her feel better.

Mimi's gaze moved back and forth between her mom and her shoes. Her dad was kneeling beside her, staring blankly at the woman under the sheets without uttering a word. His mouth opened and closed a few times, but nothing ever came out. There was just nothing for him to say. The long silence was broken when the sheets unfurled as her mother's body slowly sat up - cold dead eyes staring blankly off into space. The hole where Myotismon had ripped straight through her was plain to see and made the girl almost gag in disgust. Around them, she noticed others doing the same - the bodies of the dead sitting up in place and staring blankly into the distance. Police drew their guns and Joe said, "Zombies!"

"Myotismon, Lord and Master," her mother said grimly, "Myotismon, Lord and Master!"

"Mom," Mimi mumbled. Thunder rumbled somewhere and the skies darkened. She looked up and saw swarms of bats flying past over head towards the TV Station. Towards the others. Fire came back into the girl's eyes and she said, "Tanemon, how fast can you get us back there?"

"Is something wrong Mimi?" her partner asked worriedly, watching her partner stride away from her mother and the other deceased.

"We're going back to help," Mimi said.

"But Tamer said-"

"Do I look like I care about what he said?" Mimi growled, "We're going back there and we're going to do what Tamer was too scared to do!"

"I think we'd better go too Joe. Someone needs to keep an eye on Mimi so that she doesn't hurt herself," Bukamon said to his partner quietly. Joe readjusted his glasses and agreed, "I was just thinking the same thing."

"Be safe you two," Joe's dad told them, overhearing the two discussing going back. Joe lowered his head respectfully, "We will."

Sora gave her mother a hug and promised to come back before running off to join them. Biyomon digivolved straight to Birdramon and took off into the air with the others on her back. In the distance, they could hear sounds of intense fighting.

* * *

"Okay, what's next?" Matt asked the others as the bats started encircling over the TV station, swarming around in the shape of a circle. Tamer shrugged, "I guess Myotismon comes back."

"After that part! What are we supposed to do after that part?" Matt groaned. Tamer blinked, "Oh…um, I don't know. I guess we call the angels, right? Patamon? Nyaromon?"

"You've got it!"

"On it!"

The two digimon leapt out of their partner's arms. The two little kids cheered them on as their digivices came to life, "Yeah! Go get them Patamon!"

"You can do it Nyaromon!"

"Nyaromon! Digivolve to! Salamon!"

"Patamon! Digivolve to! Angemon!"

"Salamon! Digivolve to! Gatomon!"

"Gatomon! Digivolve to! Angewomon!"

The two angel digimon flew into the heart of the swarm, bathing the darkness in their ever brightening light. The bats swarmed away from them but continued to circle around and around, while the two angel digimon let loose upon them. Their attacks couldn't hit the small creatures, but the light was more than enough to drive them away. All the same, it did little to stop the cloud from growing in size as more and more bats came.

"This isn't working," Wizardmon commented of the angels as they worked their way through the swarm to no avail. Gabumon watched in awe, "Have a better idea?"

"You three could always help fight," Tamer crossed his arms and stared at the three in-training digimon, "Go to the Ultimate level and get rid of as many of these bats as-"

The ground shook so hard that they all fell to their knees. The sky was thick with bats and it darkened the skies as if it were night. Then they started coming together, forming and condensing into a single mass over the tv center in the shape of a large egg. The egg cracked with the sound of thunder and a misshapen darkness came out from within. It crumbled away to nothing, leaving the form of a blood red beast so large that its frame destroyed the TV station beneath its weight. The beast let out a deafening roar that cleared away the fog enough to show its form. It had long, slender arms that turned to misshapen claws that dug into the ground; legs covered in hair so thick that it looked like it wore pants, and a pale face concealed beneath long blonde hair and a red pointed mask. It writhed and wriggled whilst it stretched its new body, including unfurling a pair of black leather wings that looked like webbed claws.

"Well…crap," Matt's dad said aloud.

"That!? You have to fight that!?" Kari's mom shrieked in terror. Izzy wasted no time in opening up his laptop to gather any data he could on the new digimon, "It says here that it's VenomMyotismon. Virus Attribute. Mega Level. Nightmare Solder Family. There's nothing else - no weaknesses, no information, nothing."

"I think now would be a good time to figure out that prophecy," Tamer said, "Wizardmon, Izzy. Good luck with that. Koromon?"

"Do we have to? Fighting VenomMyotismon types are always a pain," Koromon sighed wearily. Tamer nodded expectantly, "Yes. This is what we do, remember? Besides, we have Tsunomon, Angemon, Angewomon, Motimon, Matt, TK, Kari, Izzy, Wizardmon, and all the others here to help."

"You guys are talking like you've fought VenomMyotismon before," Tsunomon pointed out. Koromon frowned, "Yeah, but it wasn't this one. They're always a pain to bring down."

Tamer adjusted his goggles over his face and whipped out his digivice, "Let's do this! Ready buddy?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Koromon sighed. The two of them charged ahead and Koromon digivolved straight into Agumon. The two angels above swooped in low and followed the pair as they ran straight into the fight. Kari's mom yelped, "TAI! WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?"

Her cries were ignored as the four charged straight for the towering behemoth. The two angels opened the attack by firing straight at the towering behemoth, "Hand of Fate!"

"Celestial Arrow!"

Both attacks barely scratched him and only served to alert the bestial digimon to their presence. Tamer and Agumon continued on despite that, with Tamer lowering his head down so that Agumon could jump onto him. Tamer jumped with all his might to propel the little dinosaur upwards, "Agumon! Digivolve to! Greymon!"

It was usual for these two to work together with such skill and synchronization that they could defeat any one they faced through a mix of overwhelming ability and subterfuge. And the others wondered if this would be the same or if this would be different. Greymon appeared in a flash of light, higher in the air than he could ever achieve on his own, but only high enough to latch himself straight onto VenomMyotismon's knee. He wasted no time in attacking, ramming the horns on his head straight into the massive digimon and making it howl in agony, "GRAH!"

"Yeah! Take that you overgrown…whatever you are…that really got away from me," Tamer's declaration petered out and lost steam. While the physical attack did hurt the digimon, it's overall effect was negligible and the massive creature grabbed Greymon with its massive claw, "HUNGRY. SO. HUNGRY!"

"TAMER!" Greymon yelped, trying to press against the massive claws, "I can't…break free!"

"Greymon! NO!" Tamer looked around frantically, "Okay…okay, um…Angemon! Angewomon! I need a lift!"

"On it!" Angewomon swooped down and plucked the boy up into the air, "So what's the plan?"

"Get us eye level! QUICK!" Tamer instructed, just as VenomMyotismon prepared to put the champion dinosaur in his mouth, "TAMER!"

"Don't worry buddy!" Tamer shouted. Angewomon flew as fast as she could and got eye level with VenomMyotismon. The bestial digimon didn't even notice they were there, until Tamer pointed his digivice into its eye, "HEY! VenomMyotismon! Eat this!"

Light burst from it and blinded the digimon, "ARGH!"

His grip weakened enough for Greymon to break free of his hand and fall straight down. He dug his claws into the side of VenomMyotismon's leg to slow his descent, "HAHA!"

"THE LIGHT…BURNS…" VenomMyotismon swatted at the air to knock the two angels out of the air, having completely forgotten about Greymon. Greymon continued down the side of Myotismon's leg, and leapt to the ground when he was low enough. He came to a stop just short of the digidestined and their parents, "Well, that was useless. Now what?"

"We need to try something else," Angemon said - the two angels dodged and weaved through the attacks. Tamer let out his crest, "Well, this works now. You've taken Ultimates as a Champion. Let's you him take a Mega as an Ultimate! DO IT GREYMON!"

His crest shined a bright orange light and Greymon digivolved.

"Greymon! Digivolve to! MetalGreymon!"

MetalGreymon roared his presence triumphantly and Angewomon set Tamer down on top of him. Although he was taller than Greymon, he only stood at VenomMyotismon's knee. The size difference was intimidating enough, but his attack strength should have packed enough of a punch to hurt the towering behemoth. It only came at the cost of moving much more slowly, "Giga Blaster!"

Rockets shot from his chest and impacted on the massive beast's leg. VenomMyotismon was rocked by the explosions and staggered back. It took him a few steps to correct himself, but he was upright again, "YOU…DIGIDESTINED…DIE…NOW! DIE NOW!"

"I think we just made him madder," Angewomon stated the obvious as the beast took another swipe at them. The two angel digimon continued flying around the massive creature while MetalGreymon occasionally launched more rockets at him. In spite of this, it seemed that they only managed to push him backwards without actually doing anything to hurt it, "HUNGRY…SO HUNGRY…NEED MORE…MORE!"

As he spoke, a swarm of bats came forth from his arm and scattered across the city. Angemon frowned, "More bats! We have to stop them! HAND OF FATE!"

"CELESTIAL ARROW!"

"GIGA BLASTER!"

The three digimon continued fighting the massive beast digimon, while the others looked on from a block away. At this distance, they could feel the impact of every attack on the massive digimon above. Sitting back to watch only made the remaining In-Training's antsy, "We can't just sit here Matt. We should help them!"

"Alright get in there!" Matt told his partner. Izzy added, "The rest of us will try to figure out the rest of the prophecy."

"That sounds like a plan!" Motimon nodded his agreement, "Let's go!"

"Hang on guys! We're coming," Tsunomon said, charging ahead with the others. The two digimon ran ahead and digivolved straight into their Ultimate forms, surrounded by the light of their partner's tags and digivices. The werewolf and the massive bug tackled the beast but only managed to annoy him further, "DIE! JUST DIE!"

While they fought, the others crowded around to try and figure out what to do. Matt, Matt's dad, Izzy, Kari's mom, and Wizardmon tried their best to decipher the rest of the prophecy. Wizardmon recited the remaining line, "Angels will shoot arrows of hope and light at the loved ones of those they were sent to protect. Then a miracle will happen. Please always recycle."

"Well we know the angels refer to Angemon and Angewomon," Izzy postulated, "Hope and Light. Myotismon said before that our crests refer to our traits. And we can assume Kari is Light while TK is Hope."

"Yeah. And they're supposed to shoot arrows of hope and light at the loved ones of those they were sent to protect," Matt said, looking at his brother and Kari anxiously. The two were so engrossed in cheering for their partners that they didn't notice them discussing what to do. Izzy could only guess, "It either refers to your parents…or to you and Tamer."

"Wait…us?" Kari's mom gasped, "Why us?"

"Yeah, I'm not keen on getting shot here," Matt's dad grumbled, "And I don't like the idea of shooting our kids either."

"Well, those are the options before us and there is not a lot of time to debate this," Wizardmon stated grimly as he pointed out Myotismon. Matt's dad blinked and Wizardmon continued, "The prophecy says only the loved ones of those they were sent to protect. It mentions nothing of whom specifically - sibling or parent."

"I see your point but this sounds dangerous. What if we get it wrong? Someone could die!" Matt's dad erred on the side of caution, but also inadvertently reminded them that Mimi's mom was dead when she shouldn't have been. And that grim reminder was enough to give them pause. They were broken out of their introspection when Tamer tumbled along the ground into the center of their huddle. He took a moment to dust off and straighten himself, "Wow he's got an arm. MetalGreymon! Don't let up!"

"Tamer! Perfect!" Izzy remarked, "The prophecy states that angels will shoot arrows at the loved ones of those they were sent to protect! But who are the loved ones in question? Right now, it can either refer to their parents, or to you and Matt."

"What are you even talking about?" Tamer reminded him. Izzy caught him up on everything they'd pieced together and waited for his reaction. The boy mulled it over quietly while their digimon partner continued fighting behind them. Occasionally, TK or Kari would cheer their partners on and another boom would follow. Then Tamer declared, "I'd start with me and Matt."

Wizardmon agreed wholeheartedly, "It makes sense. You're both digidestined."

"But the prophecy doesn't specify for digidestined," Izzy reminded them, "It only says that it has to be the loved ones of those they've been sent to protect. How can you be so sure that it doesn't refer to their parents?"

"I can't be. But it'd make sense to start with us," Tamer said, "I mean…Matt is TK's sibling so that makes sense. And I'm Kari's…well-"

"Brother," Kari's mom said.

"Something, whatever," Tamer said dismissively, "The point is, if she wants me to play the role of her brother then that's what I'll do. It shouldn't matter whether I am or not."

"Look, can we just call you Tai?" Matt groaned in exasperation, "This is getting confusing and saying yes would make things move a lot faster!"

There was no time to retort. Both MetalGreymon and WereGarurumon crashed into the ground beside them, regressing back to their rookie forms of Agumon and Gabumon. Gabumon bemoaned his injuries, "He's way too strong."

"He's bigger, but I think he's a lot stupider that before. He might just be disoriented since he just hatched. The sooner we end this, the better it'll be for everyone," Agumon rolled onto his side to force himself up. VenomMyotismon had turned on them now and was angrier than before, "You! YOU DIE! NOW!"

"He's coming this way," Kari's mom shrieked. Tamer called out to Matt, "It's now or never, Matt. What do you say? Are you up for getting shot?"

"NO!" Matt scoffed, "Why would I want to be shot?"

VenomMyotismon's massive foot came crashing down into the building beside them and he growled. TK and Kari dashed back towards their parent's arms. Their angel digimon and MegaKabuterimon continued trying to fight the bestial digimon back, but were unable to so much as stall his advance. Angemon stated, "We can't touch him!"

"We have to keep trying," Angewomon answered, "We have to protect Kari and the others."

While Kari and TK worriedly watched, Tamer called out to them, "KARI! TK! You have to lend your power to Angemon and Angewomon. Make them stronger so they can put this guy down!"

"How do we do that?" TK asked. Tamer shrugged, "How should I know? I just figured out how the crests work!"

"It's your people's prophecy!" Izzy groaned at the millennia old boy, who could only offer excuses, "I'm sorry Izzy. I don't know everything!"

Realization dawned on their wizard friend, "It's the crests! Use the crests! Arrows of hope and light! Don't you see! It's all the crests!"

"Yes, we know!" Matt shouted. VenomMyotismon was on top of them now. There was no more time to talk, so Wizardmon explained, "Kari! TK! Point your crests at your digimon!"

Both Kari and TK held out their crests in a panic, praying and hoping that something would happen. And it paid off. Beams of light shot forth from the crests, one pink and one gold, and into their respective partners. It formed in the angels' hands as arrows of golden and pink light. Angewomon beheld the light in awe, "This light! Is this the power of the crests?"

"I can feel the power inside. But now what?" Angemon asked. Matt anxiously spoke, "Shoot us. Me and Tai."

Tamer darted his eyes towards him, "My name is-"

"Nobody cares! No one has ever freaking cared!" Matt shouted. He grabbed a hold of the fiery haired boy's hand, "Angemon! Angewomon! Do it! The last part of the prophecy! Shoot us!"

Tamer tried talking again, "What happen-"

"You talk too much, y'know?" Matt grumbled. Both Angemon and Angewomon positioned themselves in the air, "Are you sure?"

"As I'll ever be! Do it…before I change my mind," Matt swallowed a lump forming in his throat. He tightened his grip on Tamer's hand and the boy did the same. For a brief moment, Matt saw a look of uncertainty in the boy's eyes - as if he wasn't sure they were about to do the right thing. Then he raised his goggles to look him in the eye and offered a reassuring smile. Matt couldn't explain it, but he calmed down.

"Okay, here goes. HAND OF FATE!"

"CELESTIAL ARROW!"

The gold and pink arrow shot straight for their marks - Matt and Tamer respectively. The two boys closed their eyes as the arrows struck their chests, preparing for the pain of being struck. Instead they felt a warmth well up inside them and they opened their eyes to see their crests and digivices shining brighter than they ever had before. The light extended from themselves to their rookie partners. Agumon burned orange while Gabumon shone blue. Their forms shifted and changed so quickly that it was hard to tell what exactly was happening to the digimon. They could make out Greymon and Garurumon, then MetalGreymon and WereGarurumon, before the light cleared to reveal two new digimon.

"Agumon! Warp Digivolve to! WarGreymon!"

Gabumon! Warp Digivolve to! MetalGarurumon!"

WarGreymon was twice the height of Matt's dad, and wore golden armor and a silver helmet with three horns. Fiery red hair extended out the back of his helmet in a way that resembled fire. Attached to his back was a large hexagonal shield with the symbol of Tamer's crest of courage on the back, with the shield split in half like a pair of wings. On each arm was a golden cestus with spike like claws growing from them. Izzy examined his laptop excitedly, "That's WarGreymon! Mega Level! Vaccine Type. Classified into Metal Empire, Virus Buster, Nature Spirit, and Dragon's Roar Families. It's listed as the strongest dragon warrior class digimon and is armed with two weapons. The Dramon Destroyers it carries on its arms that can kill any dragon type digimon, and the Brave Shield on its back which can absorb any attack."

MetalGarurumon was about the size of Garurumon but covered head to toe in metal armaments. A pair of golden wings extended from its shoulder blades like a pair of knives, and its tail was replaced with a sharped golden edged sword. Mounted on each shoulder were a pair of rocket launchers armed with three missiles each. Were it not for the fleshy mouth and eyes visible under the armor, it could have been easily mistake for a robot. Izzy went on to add, "And that's MetalGarurumon! Mega Level! Data Type! Classified into Metal Empire Family. It retains the natural keenness seen in Garurumon type digimon, but adds mechanized enhancements including infrared tracking lasers in its snout and hundreds of concealed rockets in its body. It says here that once it's locked onto its target, there's nothing it can do to escape!"

TK naturally cheered excitedly at the two new forms of digimon while Matt gaped in awe, "No way! They could digivolve further?"

"Yeah they can!" Tamer smiled proudly, "That's some miracle! WarGreymon! You can do it!"

"This power level. It's so different," WarGreymon remarked, "I feel like…like we can't lose!"

"Let's try out our new forms! Let's go!" MetalGarurumon charged in first, using his mounted wing blades to fly into the air and ram straight into VenomMyotismon with enough force to make the massive beast creature stagger back. WarGreymon followed after him, gliding into the air to reach Myotismon's eye level. With a swing of the Dramon Destroyers, it knocked the beast digimon around in the face, "LETS! SEE! YOU! EAT! THIS!"

The last blow knocked the massive digimon on its back so that it fell past the remains of the TV station and into the water behind it. VenomMyotismon roared out in despair as the two Mega digimon continued to press the attack. They were joined by MegaKabuterimon, Angemon, and Angewomon in beating the digimon while it was down. Unlike before, VenomMyotismon was actually screaming in pain from the attacks, "GRAH! KILL THEM! HATE! HATE!"

"We're hurting him!" MetalGarurumon pointed out excitedly as VenomMyotismon started getting back up. Angemon agreed, "I think we made him mad too."

"Does he sound…I don't know…dumber to anyone else?" Angewomon asked aloud. VenomMyotismon started swatting at the digimon in the air, forcing them to scatter as WarGreymon explained, "VenomMyotismon aren't known for being smart, but this one especially since he just hatched. We have to finish this quick! They have a weak point in their abdomen but we'll have to draw it out. Or is it their crotch?"

"Please say we're not about to do what I think we're about to do," Angewomon shuddered at the ideas going through her mind. WarGreymon dove straight for VenomMyotismon's midsection, "HERE WE GO!"

WarGreymon tried to punch it in the abdomen only to slam into it and bounce away, "That should have worked."

"Look!" MegaKabuterimon pointed out a swarm of bats carrying Myotismon's smaller followers - Gotsumon, Bakemon, Gazimon, and others. These smaller digimon screamed and flailed for freedom in vain, desperately trying to get free, "We don't want to die!"

VenomMyotismon's mouth hung wide open letting the bats swarm inside with the ever screaming minions who pleaded for mercy from their former lord. Mercy that he refused to show while he swallowed each of his followers with delight, "MORE! NEED MORE! STILL HUNGRY!"

With each digimon he swallowed, myotismon only grew in size and scope. Angemon panicked, "He's getting bigger with each digimon he swallows."

"Everyone! Quickly! Save who you can!" Angewomon called out to the other digimon. They split up as they entered the cloud of bats, trying to free as many of the digimon as they could. For every digimon they were able to free, two more slipped past to be consumed. With each bat defeated, another took its place to continue brining digimon to VenomMyotismon, "HUNGRY!"

The digidestined continued watching the battle from afar as Wizardmon sighed, "The current strategy doesn't appear to be working. What do we do next Tamer?"

"I don't know. It said a miracle will happen," Tamer shrugged, "I'm assuming the warp digivolution was the miracle. Unless there's something else we missed."

"Well, it better happen soon," Wizardmon said, "Because it doesn't look like we're winning!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!"

"Wing Blade!"

"Flower Cannon!"

Three attacks zoomed past overhead and struck VenomMyotismon square in the chest, knocking him back again. He roared his frustration and looked on at the new digimon entering the fray - Garudamon, Zudomon, and Lillymon. The three newcomers entered the cloud of bats and tried to help freeing as many of the digimon as they could. Wizardmon commented, "That works."

"No, no! What are you guys doing here?" Tamer groaned in frustration as he saw Sora, Joe and Mimi arrive. Mimi shot him death glares, "We're here to end it because you won't!"

"That's exactly what I'm trying to do!" he said defensively, completely ignored by Mimi as she strode past, "KICK HIS BUTT LILLYMON!"

"Guys wait! We need to stop him from eating all those digimon! He's getting bigger with each one he swallows. If we stop that, we can stop him from getting bigger!" Izzy explained. Joe took one glance at the giant monster and the digimon trying in vain to save who they could, "And how are we supposed to do that? It looks like you guys are trying to save those digimon and that's not really working."

"There's just too many bats," TK said sheepishly, "They keep trying and more of them just show up!"

"JUST CUT OFF HIS FREAKING HEAD!" Mimi shouted at them, then to Lillymon, "BLOW HIS HEAD OFF LILLYMON!"

"I don't think I've got enough punch for that Mimi," her partner said as she fought through the endless bats swarming her. MetalGarurumon whizzed past her and several compartments opened on his metal frame, "I do! ICE WOLF CLAW!"

A barrage of missiles fired from every possible surface on MetalGarurumon's body, more than seemed possible for the digimon to be carrying around in his body. Many of them collided with random bats circling through the air, turning the surrounding bats to ice and clearing pockets in the air. Most still hit their mark on VenomMyotismon's massive frame and covered him in ice from the neck up. Through the thick layer of ice, he still managed to let out a stifled growl. WarGreymon took this chance to dive in again, "My turn! GREAT TORNADO!"

He spun in place at such rapid speed that he turned into an orange and red blur. Then it darted forward through the air with such speed that the wind spiraled with him to produced a tornado of fire. The mega level carried straight through VenomMyotismon's head, shattering it like glass so that shards of ice scattered to the ground. TK cheered excitedly to see the big bully finally get what was coming to him, and the headless digimon's body sank to its knees. The bats that were delivering digimon stopped swarming into his mouth and instead began circling aimlessly over the lifeless form.

"We beat him! We beat him!" Kari said excitedly, until Mimi said, "No we didn't."

Kari's cheers stopped while Mimi went on to add, "If he were beaten, his body would be turning to data. It hasn't, which means he's still alive."

"I hate it but she's right. His body is still there!" Izzy agreed pointing out the seemingly lifeless form of VenomMyotismon. As if on cue, it's massive body shook violently and the mouth on its lower abdomen cracked open for something trying to crawl out. A purple necrotic hand reached out from within followed by another, and the two hands tried desperately to split the mouth open - revealing a bloated face wearing a red mask much like Myotismon's. It's nose was sharp and crooked, and its mouth started small but opened wide to reveal a massive maw with razor sharp teeth. It's voice was wild and nasally, "TAMER! WARGREYMON! CURSE YOU! CURSE ALL YOU DIGIDESTINED!"

"What is that!?" Matt gasped in surprise.

"It's disgusting!" Garudamon backed away in the air.

"I want to poke it with a stick," TK looked on excitedly, scouring the area around him for something to do just that. His dad grabbed a hold of him, "You are not poking that with anything!"

"DIGIDESTINED! I WON'T FORGIVE YOU OR YOUR DIGIMON! I'M SO CLOSE! I CAN'T DIE! I WON'T DIE! I DEFY MY FATE! CHAOS FLAME!" It belched out black flames that spread along the ground and consumed everything in their path. Everyone ran away as the black flames licked at their heels. Garudamon swooped in low to scoop up the digidestined and their parents while the flying digimon took to the skies. Zudomon resorted to leaping into the water to avoid the flames, splashing a wave of water large enough to flood the shore and extinguish the flames. VenomMyotismon's new head growled in frustration, "NO! CURSE YOU DIGIDESTINED! CURSE YOU ALL! THIS ISN'T FINISHED YET!"

"He isn't moving," MegaKabuterimon noticed.

"Well yeah. I thought I said he has a weak point," WayGreymon reminded them, "Without the head on his shoulders, he's lost most of his motor control. He's stuck now. The only way he can defend himself is for that head to show itself. That's VenomMyotismon's true form! That's his weak point!"

"WarGreymon! Let's end this already!" Tamer shouted to his partner. WarGreymon nodded and ascended high into the air, "You got it! MetalGarurumon, freeze him solid!"

"Okay!" MetalGarurumon rearmed his weapons and launched another barrage of weapons at his partner, "ICE WOLF CLAW!"

He released another barrage of missiles into the air that blanketed his large form in ice and steel. VenomMyotismon howled and screamed, "NO! NO! NO! DIGIDESTINED! I WILL NOT DIE! I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE! I AM THE LORD, YOUR MASTER! I AM THE ONE WHO WILL DEFY DESTINY! I WILL NOT PERISH HERE!"

"TERRA FORCE!" WarGreymon raised his arms above his head and created a ball of fire that ignited the air around it. It grew in size until it was many times larger than he was and was so bright that no one could look straight at it. WarGreymon hurled the ball with all his might towards the frozen VenomMyotismon and it hurtled with the sound of crackling fire. VenomMyotismon shook his head and screamed, "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!"

His screams died out as he vanished in the flame. It impacted with enough force to burn create a smoldering crater in the ground and light the surrounding buildings on fire. Zudomon wasted no time splashing water onto the burning buildings nearby. People ran out of the burning buildings and scattered away. Matt's dad looked down at the burning hole that had once been his place of employment and sighed, "Well, there goes my job."

Despite his remark, the kids finally breathed a sigh of relief as the fire cleared to reveal no trace of Myotismon's body. No one cheered excitedly as Mimi asked the question on everyone else's mind, "Is he dead?"

"What?"

"Is he dead?" Mimi asked again, turning to face Tamer, "Is he dead for real this time!?"

"He should be," Tamer crossed his arms and stared into the burning crater. Mimi stormed towards him and asked again, "Are you sure!? Is he dead!?"

"Yes," Tamer threw up his arms defensively, "Or are you asking if there's a prophecy you don't know about yet?"

"What do you think!?" Mimi asked. Tamer shook his head and scoffed, looking down at the street level. The digimon who'd avoided being eaten were scattering now - running for somewhere to hide that wasn't anywhere nearby. It was a good thing they thought to do so as the fog started clearing just as a pair of jet fighters roared in low overhead. The roar of their engines was all they hear as they disappeared back into the fog and it sounded like they were coming back. Sora said, "Maybe you guys should make yourselves less conspicuous. Those fighter jets will be coming back soon!"

"Yeah right!" Garudamon said. The digimon all gathered and changed back to their In-Training forms just as the two jet planes roared back overhead. The fog had thinned considerably now, enough that they could plainly see the skies above now. It was dark, with the moon and stars shining above. Or rather, what should have been the moon and stars were replaced with the surface of another world hovering just above theirs. They could make out mountains, forests, deserts, oceans and more teaming up above.

"No way, is that what I think it is?" Joe asked.

"It's the Digital World! Look! There's File Island!" Motimon pointed out towards a lone island with a single large peak. Tsunomon added, "And that's looks like the Continent of Server!"

"But what's the Digital World doing up there!?" TK asked with astonishment.

"What's the Digital World?" Kari asked them all, gaping in confusion at the world that appeared in the sky. Wizardmon answered, "It's our world. The world of Digital Monsters like us."

"And the Ancients," Koromon remarked, staring up in silence, "Tamer?"

"I know Koromon," Tamer looked up glumly. The fighter jets roared overhead one more time as if to confirm that the giant monsters were gone and their engines grew quieter as they disappeared into the distance. They were replaced with the whir of helicopter blades as a fleet of helicopters came into view. Tamer frowned, "We should probably go. Where are your families?"

"We left them all back at the police station," Sora said, "I want to see my mom more than anyone, but what does that have to do with the Digital World in the sky?"

"He saved my life," Wizardmon interjected, "That wasn't supposed to happen."

"Gee, you almost sound like you don't want to live," Bukamon frowned. Wizardmon took off his hat to reveal his messy straw hair and pointed ears, "The boundary between worlds was already weak - it allowed the movement of an entire army between the Digital World and the Real World. It was one of the lasting effects of the war. The constant changes to destiny chiseled away at that boundary over time, enough that an army could pass through between the Digital World and the Real World. After everything Myotismon did in this world - all the people who died and the ones who lived but shouldn't have, I think it's safe to say that the boundary between worlds has finally been torn down. Tamer, you'd understand this better. Would care you to explain?"

"Sure, why not," Tamer sighed in frustration, starting to wobble sickly, "Can we go now? I'm…getting…a really bad…"

"Tamer, if you fall again-" Koromon began only for Tamer to sink to his knees. Kari ran under the boy to catch him before he passed out. She buckled slightly under his weight and started coughing again. Sora and Wizardmon relieved the poor girl of her burden just as her coughing fit worsened. Her mother picked her up to patted her back while Koromon finished, "-And he's unconscious. Yep, he's unconscious."

"Is he going to be okay?" Kari asked between coughs. Wizardmon examined the boy carefully, "He will be alright. Let's get out of here."

Their group moved away from the ruins of the TV Station as the helicopters landed on the street. Their digimon knew the routine by now; pretend to be stuffed animals so that no one would bat an eye. It wasn't that hard since they were tired from the day's battles.

Sora and Wizardmon carried the unconscious Tamer, and he murmured weakly under his breath. Sora could vaguely make out him saying something about masters but it was too broken to make any sense. She gazed skyward one more time, wondering what would happen next for them. Her eyes moved to her friend, who seemed calmer compared to before and realized something was wrong, "Wait a sec."

She slid out from under him and ran back to retrieve his cloak, which had blown away from the repeated blasts and gotten stuck on a street light. Rolling it up, Sora tucked it under her arm and went back to help Wizardmon carry Tamer. He commented, "I'd forgotten about his cloak."

"It sort of suits him, y'know?" she answered. Wizardmon nodded, and they continued on back to the police station.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** The Digital World is in the sky! Tamer passed out before he could say anything else. What's in store for the Digidestined as we move to the Dark Master arc of the story? Find out in the next chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure, due out in one week on Friday August 12th 5PM CST. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism and speculation on the next chapter. I usually reply in a day or two, unless it's a guest review. Then I'll reply in the next chapter's Author's Notes. As a reminder: Guests need to sign their reviews in order to get a response.

Now for lines from the next chapter:

"If any of you were ever serious about the role of saving the Digital World, then this question wouldn't need an hour to be answered," Wizardmon's tone was harsh.

"SCREW DESTINY!" Mimi shouted at the group.

"Did the broadcast work out?" Nancy asked quietly.

Koromon shivered as he said those words, "They're the reason we lost the war."

Tamer admitted, "And that's also why I'm giving you an out. If any of you don't want to go back, I won't make you."

* * *

 **Guest Review Responses:**

 **KRUSA1:** Because you didn't sign those reviews and I'm only responding to signed reviews going forward. While I appreciate your enthusiasm for the story, I'd prefer it if you didn't treat the reviews page like a messaging system and I don't know how I'm expected to respond to rapid fire reviews that come in hours apart. Given that, I'll only be responding to your latest review going forward. I would encourage to leave a review from your profile or to create a profile if you don't have one and then to use the Private Messaging system instead. Thanks for reading and reviewing, and I hope you continue to enjoy future chapters.


	35. The World In the Sky

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hello dear readers! Welcome to Chapter 35 of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure! To those of you just joining us, thanks for reading, favoriting, following and leaving reviews. I want to give you guys a big thanks for reading! Another big thanks to Ace Spiritwell for producing the cover art for this story! Let's not waste any more time and start the story!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 35: The World In the Sky**

The mood at the police station was a mix of awe and gloom when the digidestined finally arrived. When they'd left earlier, many of the bodies sat up to declare the return of Myotismon. Now they lay there lifeless - Mimi had some glint of hope that maybe her mother would come back once everything was over but those hopes were dashed when she saw her mother lying lifeless on the ground. The officers were going around covering the bodies again to keep them from the eyes of the public, and urging everyone to stay inside until they gave the all clear - but this didn't stop those who were already outside from trying to find their missing friends and loved ones.

Amongst them were their parents who quickly rejoined the digidestined. Izzy's parents were quick to hug him and thank his partner for bringing him back in one piece. Joe's father and mother weren't as warm but still assured the boy that they were proud of him. The meeting between Matt and TK's parents was awkward - both were glad to see their sons were alive but didn't do more than address each other by name.

"Did the broadcast work out?" Nancy asked quietly. Hiroaki nodded and pointed upwards, "We saw helicopters and soldiers earlier - back at the station. But it's a big hole in the ground now, so it looks like I'm out of work for a while."

"Oh...well, you and Matt could always...y'know, stay with us if it gets rough," Nancy said awkwardly to her ex-husband. The two brother exchanged excited glances while their dad scratched the back of his head, "Oh...well, Matt and I wouldn't want to...y'know, bug you two."

"I wouldn't mind! Right Matt? We can live together! And be happy again!" TK said happily. His words struck a nerve with the two parents and they looked away from each other, as if forgetting what they'd just discussed to TK's disappointment.

Sora saw her mom and helped lower Tamer to the sidewalk before dashing off to hug her. Relief washed over the two as their arms wrapped around each other. Her mother sighed, "I'm glad to see you're alright Sora!"

"I said I'd come back, right?" Sora said happily. Yokomon smiled, "Yeah, and we beat Myotismon! He's gone for good this time!"

Despite that, her mother became uneasy, "Are you sure? I want to believe you two. I really do. But there's another world in the sky. What's going on and why is it there?"

"It's the Digital World. That's the world where we all went," Sora told her mother. Her mom kept her gaze fixed on the world above and asked, "But what's it doing in the sky?"

"I don't know. Wizardmon said something about the boundary between worlds weakening and that Tai would know what was happening. But he passed out before he could say anything," Sora looked over at her unconscious friend. Kari and her mother were at his side, along with Nyaromon, Wizardmon, and Koromon. He was mumbling something again and Sora had an idea what it was. Kari and her mother seemed almost too used to seeing him like this, but perhaps calm mumbling was an improvement over rolling around the floor and screaming in agony. It didn't change the look of worry on both their faces.

"Sora? Toshiko!" Sora heard her father's voice. Yokomon was nearly kicked aside by her father when he rushed towards them. She tried snapping at him but was drowned out by his cries of relief, "You're alright! I'm relieved! I was worried when no one answered my calls and the apartment was empty. The glass door to the balcony was broken and the car was gone. I'm just glad you're safe!"

"DAD!" Sora jumped from her mom to the man whom she hadn't seen in the longest time. She knew he was often busy with work and there were some days where she didn't see him. But it genuinely felt like an eternity since she'd seen him - likely because she'd spent time in the Digital World, "I missed you!"

"It's okay Sora. I'm here now. I'm glad you're okay," her father assured her. Sora shook her head not really knowing where to even begin explaining everything that had happened - everything that he'd missed since she'd returned. He took one glance upwards, "I have no idea what's going on but we'd better get inside where it's safe."

"Dad. Before that, there's something I have to tell you," Sora started to say only for her father to interrupt, "Tell me when we're inside."

"Haruhiko," Sora's mom said to him, "You need to listen to your daughter. You'll want to hear what she has to say."

"Can't it-"

"No, dad. It can't," she told her father. He was torn between the need to protect his family by taking them to safety and the need to listen to them when he had to. Arguing with her mother was always something he could never excel at so he agreed, "Okay. What is it sweet heart?"

"First, I want you to meet my friend Yokomon," Sora said, gesturing towards her little in-training partner. Yokomon bowed her head respectfully, "It's nice to meet you, Mister Sora's dad. Although I wish you hadn't kicked me just a second ago."

"I did? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that," her father offered apologetically, somehow not disturbed by the fact that she was a talking ball of pink with a blue flower sprouting from her head. Then he gasped, "What is that!?"

"Honey, not so loud!" Toshiko chastised her husband in a way that cooled him down. She nodded to Sora to continue explaining. Any awkwardness she felt about having to explain this again was gone, replaced by curiosity regarding how many more times she'd have to explain everything. He seemed disbelieving of everything she said, in spite of everything that happened today and the presence of the many digimon partners around them. When she'd gotten to the part about Tai being alive, her dad finally stopped her, "Sora. Not this again, please."

"Honey, he's behind you," Sora's mother said to him. She looked at him expectantly and he glanced over his shoulder. He jolted away the moment he saw Tamer sitting up, massaging his head. Kari had her arms around him in a hug and her mother did the same for both of them. Sora's dad seemed to struggling to identify what was happening, "But how? He died! We went to the funeral! No, it has to be a mistake. That can't be-"

"It was a little weird for us too dad," Sora offered sheepishly. He shook his head, "It has to be a coincidence - It has to be the hair! It just makes him look similar."

"It's him dad. Kari and their mom recognized him right away," Sora explained.

"And Yuuko screamed for a while as soon as she saw him. She was convinced she had died and joined him in the afterlife," her mother added. Her father stared in disbelief and continued trying to rationalize how he could be there so Sora told him she'd been able to figure out. The terrorist attack really being a battle between digimon, how they first met him in a manor that blew up after saving their lives, meeting up with him days later when he was a continent away, and their travels together before coming back to this world. Her dad shook her head in disbelief at each word but couldn't ignore the evidence of his own eyes - there were monsters running around and a boy he'd thought had died years ago was standing right in front of him.

Sora then added that Yokomon had been with her during the entire journey, that she had been her protector and her friend - and that she had helped save so many lives today. Yokomon beamed proudly and her dad seemed torn between thanking her and trying to disprove the fact that she was real. Tamer interrupted before he could even begin to reply, "Sora. I have something I need to tell you guys."

"What is it?" Sora asked.

"I need to talk to all of you guys - in private," Tamer informed her seriously, glancing at her mother anxiously. Her dad walked straight towards him and poked him in the face, "Ow!"

"Well, that rules out the ghost idea," her dad murmured, "Maybe it's a wig!"

He started pulling on the poor boy's hair and he yelped, "HEY! It's not a wig and I'm not a ghost! Do I look like a Bakemon?"

"Bakemon? What does that have to do with being a ghost?" he asked, letting Tamer go while Yokomon explained, "He means the Bakemon! They're digimon that look like ghosts - one of them took Sora's mom hostage. That and some of the others' parents."

There was a beat in the moment it took her words to register with Sora's dad, "WHAT? Toshiko! You were held-"

"I'm fine Haruhiko," she said rather calmly.

"No! You're not! How can you be fine after going through being held hostage and-" her father began only to get cut off, "Sweetie. That was not the weirdest thing that has happened to me in the last day. Honestly, it was seeing Tai over there show up at our front door looking for a cat then watching him jump off the balcony."

"You what!?" he looked over at the boy.

"It makes sense in context," Tamer offered up defensively, "And seriously! It's The Digimon Tamer! Why can't any of you get it right!?"

Yokomon began, "But you-"

"-said that only Kari gets to call me that!" he crossed his arms impatiently and motioned to the side with his head at the other digidestined now waiting beside Kari and her mom. The other digimon were looking anxious, "Look, you guys look like you have a lot to talk about. We'll be over there when you two are ready to talk."

Tamer made his way back to the others. Sora didn't like how sullen he'd sounded and said to her parents, "Yokomon and I better go see what's going on. We'll be right back."

"We'll be right here," Toshiko said despite her father's protests, "Sora! Wait! What's-"

She'd already hurried off with Yokomon in her arms to meet Tamer and the others. Kari was playfully running her hand through Nyaromon's fur while Wizard sat beside them anxiously. Mimi had her arms crossed with her partner at her feet anxiously trying to get her attention. The rest stared at Tamer impatiently as he and Koromon were quietly staring off into space. When she joined them, she asked, "So what's the big emergency?"

"Yeah, I think we're all a little curious," Izzy said, reopening his laptop to begin taking notes. Motimon asked, "Is this about all the destiny stuff that you guys are always talking about?"

"Yes. Well, sort of," Koromon answered. Tamer sat silently for a moment before beginning, "I wanted to have a serious talk with you guys. We've been thinking-"

Koromon butt his head against the boy's leg and Tamer corrected himself, " _I've_ been thinking. You guys need to be in the loop more and it's not right that I'm keeping you guys in the dark after everything that's happened. I'll tell you guys what you need to know, so you can prepare yourselves for what's about to happen. But only what you need to know, not a thing more. Destiny's been derailed enough already."

"Took you long enough," Mimi commented bitterly, while the others leaned in curiously. Tamer continued, "We're supposed to go back to the Digital World - the place up in the sky - so that we can save it. There, we're going to battle some of the strongest digimon to have ever lived. There are four of them all together. One of them alone is dangerous but they're unstoppable together."

"The Dark Masters," Koromon shivered as he said those words, "They're the reason we lost the war."

"It'll be tough," the boy admitted, "We were supposed to beat them and win but destiny has been derailed. You can see the effects of it for yourselves up there - the boundary between worlds was already weak with Myotismon opening the gate. With us this far off course already, the boundary has been shattered. It's only a matter of time before this world and the Digital world collide with each other. Now, I don't know what will happen from here. Everything is in flux and anything is possible."

"I'm pretty sure that's what I've been saying," Izzy added. Tamer ignored him and continued, "Truth be told, some of us might not survive going back to the Digital World. That's how far we are from what was supposed to happen. And if we fail, then that's it. Both worlds get destroyed and everything will die."

The reminder of the danger of their situation meant nothing anymore - not after everyone they'd seen die. Definitely not for Mimi after she'd seen her mother get impaled in front of her. The rest of them exchanged anxious looks until Matt started, "What are the odds that we'll fail."

"I don't know. That's how bad of a spot we're in," Tamer admitted, "And that's also why I'm giving you an out. If any of you don't want to go back, I won't make you. If it comes down to it, Koromon and I will go back by ourselves. But I'll need your answers quick. I'll give you each an hour."

"An hour isn't a lot of time to give any serious consideration to anything that we need to discuss," Izzy stated matter of factly until Wizardmon replied, "I find it quite generous."

Joe rolled his eyes, "You're kidding right?"

"If any of you were ever serious about the role of saving the Digital World, then this question wouldn't need an hour to be answered," Wizardmon's tone was harsh, causing Matt to snap back, "Back off. It's not like any of us were asked to do this. We got pulled into another world in the middle of summer camp! Why do we have to be the ones who have to do this?"

"Matt, are you saying you don't want to save our world?" Tsunomon asked his partner with the tiniest hint of apprehension. Matt's voice shook, "No! I'm not saying that Tsunomon. I'm asking why us?"

"Because it is your destiny," Wizardmon answered.

"SCREW DESTINY!" Mimi shouted at the group, making them go quiet. They were silent for a second until Kari spoke up, "The Digital World, that's the world up there right?"

Her voice was soft and it earned a gentler reply from Nyaromon, "That's right."

"Is that where you were Tai? Is that where you and Koromon have been this whole time?" Kari's gaze moved to her older brother who still had his arms crossed, "Yeah. That's where we came from. It's where we've been for the last hundred thousand years."

"You keep saying that Tai," Kari stated, "But you've only been gone for four years. You're eleven!"

"Now that she mentions it, you've never really answered that question Tai," Sora remarked. Tamer muttered under his breath that only Kari could use that name and said, "Who knows? I'm not really sure that I am her brother Tai. But if she's more comfortable with calling me that, then what do I care?"

"But you don't like it when we call you that?" Tsunomon asked. Tamer rolled his eyes, "Just so you guys know. You've wasted about three minutes. You have fifty-seven left to decide if you're coming or not. Meanwhile, I want to talk to the Kamiyas."

He scooped up Koromon and led Kari by the hand away from the group. Motimon took the chance to comment, "I don't think he's ever going to tell us how he got that old after four years."

"Forget about him. By my count your down to just a little over fifty six minutes to make your decisions. It's important, though I'm sure some of you will have made up your minds already," Wizardmon crossed his legs and sat down on the sidewalk, "I would advise that those of you have made up your minds go meet with your parents to say your goodbyes. As for the rest of you, I would suggest making your decisions soon. If you decide to go, you'll want time to say good bye. And if you decide to stay, then this will be your farewell to the rest."

"He's right guys," Sora nodded, "Let's meet back here after we've all decided."

"Come on TK," Matt guided his little brother away from the group. Izzy noted, "I may be a while. Would you guys mind waiting a little longer for me?"

"You were given an hour," Wizardmon reminded him, "So do make the most of what little time you have left."

"You really have to lighten up," Motimon said as he and Izzy walked off. Joe bowed out, "I should go see my parents too."

He carried Bukamon away. Mimi harrumphed and walked back with Sora. Her face was angry and she handled Tanemon almost carelessly. Sora glanced over at Mimi's father and saw that he was still beside the lifeless body of her mother. She quietly asked the other girl, "Hey, Mimi. Will you be okay?"

"I'm fine Sora," Mimi grunted. Tanemon looked at Sora pleadingly and she said, "Remember what you said to me the night before we left File Island? It's not healthy to keep something that's bugging you in. Are you okay?"

"I'm FINE!" Mimi growled more angrily and Sora took the hint. She mouthed good luck to Tanemon and carried on straight to her own parents. Yokomon asked, "Sora? I don't think Mimi is okay."

"We'll keep an eye on her," Sora promised her partner, "She'll need someone to look after her so that she doesn't hurt herself."

When she rejoined her parents, her mother had finished calming her father down. He still seemed taken aback by everything that'd happened in the last day, but he wasn't panicking as much as before. Her mother saw her come back first, "Sora. What did Tai…or Tamer…whatever, what did he want to talk about?"

"He said that we have to go back to the Digital World," Sora said, looking skyward, "To save it from four digimon. He and Koromon both sounded scared. We might not make it back and he wanted us to know that we didn't have to go if we didn't want to."

"And what do you want to do Sora?" Yokomon asked. Sora was still unsure how to answer. They'd done well so far, but who knew how much of that was what destiny had in store for them. And Tai or Tamer made it clear that this was no longer the case. They actually could die. But it wasn't the fear of her own death that scared her. It was looking at her mom and her dad, and seeing just how scared they were. Seeing her dad panicking reaffirmed her own fear. She loved her parents and it would kill them if she were to die. But if she didn't go, then would the others be okay without her? What if they failed? They could possibly die! Their parents would be devastated.

It reminded her of what happened to the Kamiyas when Tai _died_ all those years ago. She couldn't bare to see that happen to them again. Or to see that happen to the other parents. Her eyes drifted to Mimi who looked like she was trying to get some kind of response from her dad. It reminded her that Mimi wasn't in the best place right now and might do something to hurt herself. They may not have known each other long, but Mimi had been supportive of her back when she thought Tamer was Tai. It was only fair that she return the favor. And the others had referred to as the leader of the group more than once, something that she wasn't entirely sure was true. But if she was the leader of this group, it only made sense that she would go, if only because she'd be letting them down if she didn't. More than that, Tamer hadn't proven himself to be the most reliable when it came to being forthcoming. He could still be lying to them and leaving things out - things that could endanger the others. She couldn't knowingly leave them alone with him. And, to be fair, she was probably the one thing that kept Tamer and the digidestined from tearing each other apart. Even though she wanted to hit him some times too.

With that in mind, there was no question. She had to go.

"Yes, I'm going," Sora nodded, "The others…well, they think I'm their leader for some reason. That, and I think Yokomon and I are the only ones who can put up with Tai and Koromon.

She expected her parents to look disappointed, but was instead met with looks of approval. But this didn't mean that they weren't without concerns. Her father began first, "Honey, you'll promise to come back, right?"

"I will dad! I have Yokomon with me!" Sora said raising her partner up to her parents. Yokomon beamed, "Don't worry! I have Sora's back!"

"And I have hers!" Sora said of her partner.

"Sora, please be safe," her mother said, "Don't do anything reckless."

"I won't mom. That's a promise!"

* * *

Matt, Tsunomon, TK and Patamon went back to their parents. The two brothers were deep in thought about whether or not to go back, and neither had a definitive answer to the question. Their parents were quietly talking to themselves in a way that seemed like they had no idea what to say to each other. Both their expressions perked up when they saw their sons come back. Their father spoke first, "Matt. TK. What did your friend…um, Tamer, want to talk about?"

"He said that if we don't want to go back to the Digital World," Matt answered, "But that it would be dangerous and we didn't have to go if we didn't want to."

"Boys, you're not going to go are you?" Nancy asked of the two boys. TK frowned, "We have to, right Patamon? You helped us save our world. It's only fair we do the same."

"It wasn't about what's fair TK. We did it because it was right!" Patamon stated.

"TK!" Their mom seemed almost surprised of the little boy, "You can't be serious!"

"I think he's old enough to know what he wants to do mom," Matt muttered under his breath, wanting to defend his brother but also not wanting to upset his mother. The disapproving look in his mother's eyes had him shying away, "Matt, not you too!"

The tone hurt Matt more than he wanted to admit and he desperately wished he could be playing his harmonica at that moment. All the same, he made sure to pick his words carefully towards her, "TK's…a mature kid, mom. You said so yourself. He's growing up. Don't you think it's okay to let him go off?"

"No! He may be growing up but he's still a little boy, Matt! And so are you! You're both my sons!" she kneeled down and put hands on both her sons shoulders before continuing, "I didn't mind letting you go before because your father was with you. But this Digital World. The only way I could ever be okay with letting you go is if we go with you!"

Matt was taken aback by his mother's concern for him and wasn't sure how to address it. He stood there frozen until his dad chimed in, "Nance. I didn't really do much because I was inside trying to make a broadcast. Honestly, you should give our boys a bit more credit than that."

"Hiroaki! You can't be serious!"

"I am very serious Nance," he folded his arms. She put a hand to his head, the sniffed his breath, "You're not running a fever and you definitely aren't drunk. That can only mean you've finally lost it. I worried this might happen. I'm taking custody as soon as possible."

"Nancy, our sons can handle this. They can handle it a lot better than either of us could. I don't know about you but my useful contribution to this whole came down to running the bad guy over by mistake and calling the military," he paused before adding, "And my job went up in smoke because of it. Meanwhile, our kids wiped the floor with the guys twice!"

"It's reckless and dangerous Hiroaki! It's so bad that they were told they don't have to go back! I say we take this chance and save our kids!" Nancy turned to look at them again, "Don't go!"

She was pleading. As much as Matt wanted to be on her side, he also knew that he had to go back. TK had his heart set on going back also, and he still had to look out for his little brother. As well as the others - that was what his crest was about right? Friendship! He looked up at her and awkwardly replied, "I have to mom."

He cast a sideways glance at TK that he was sure his mom noticed. She relaxed her hold on her two boys and stood up, "I'm still against this. But you boys do what you have to do."

"Thanks mom," TK said excitedly.

* * *

Mimi looked down at her dad who was still lost at the death of his wife. She wondered if he even noticed that she'd left and returned twice already. Once to go help rescue Kari and again to stop the return of Myotismon. Would he even notice if she left a third time. Did he notice that she was hurting just as much as much as he was? Could he even notice? She tried to get his attention, "Dad?"

Still no response. She frowned and said, "Dad. I thought you…you should know that I'm…going. I'm going back to Digital World so I can finish what I started. I don't know if you're even listening to me. I wish you'd say something…because I…I'm…"

She felt guilty. She was acting horribly to everyone around her friends, both human and digimon. This was just like back at ShogunGekomon's Castle, when she freaked out from the stress of having to sing a song perfectly in just a week. This was worse. Much worse. Her mom was dead and so many thoughts were running through her mind. Frustration, anger, guilt, sorrow, humiliation. Tamer said that she brought this on herself for trying to act the hero - that Myotismon retaliated because they tried to fight back. She wanted to think that he was just being a jerk. But if he was being honest, then was it possible that she caused her own mother's death? No, it couldn't be true. It was Myotismon who killed her. But had she caused Myotismon to do this?

She and Tanemon were supposed to be heroes. They were supposed to save people, like they saved that little boy and his family. Like how they saved Yolei. So why couldn't they save her mom? What kind of heroes were they that they couldn't save someone important to her? And if they couldn't do that, then could they save anyone else? There was a whole city around them that was in ruin!

And it made her angry to think about it. She'd tried her best! She really did, but it wasn't enough! It couldn't save the city, it couldn't save all those people, and it couldn't save her mom! It couldn't have been her fault, could it? No, it was Tamer's fault! It had to be his fault! He was the one who never told them anything. She hated that she ever felt sorry for the guy that night she found him out in the garden - almost in tears. What about Tanemon? She could have saved her mother, but she wasn't strong enough! It was her fault for being so weak. But they said they drew their strength from their human partners - so was Mimi just not strong enough on her own?

"Mimi. Be strong," she heard her partner tell her. She looked down at the little doll eyed plant in her arms. It looked up at her with big worried eyes and Mimi felt the guilt come back. How could she ever think those terrible thoughts about her best friend? She hugged Tanemon more carefully and continued, "Dad. Tanemon and I are going back to the Digital World. We promise we'll come back. So…please…be…"

"Mimi, don't go," her father finally spoke. He turned from where he was and looked at her with hollow, empty eyes, "Please. Just...don't."

The sudden reaction took her off guard and she felt another powerful wave of emotion overtake her. She couldn't look him in the eye and had to turn away before she could answer, "I'm going to see this through Dad. I'm sorry."

"Mimi! Please!" her father latched onto her, "I...I just lost your mother. I can't lose you too."

"I have to go dad."

"NO YOU DON'T!" he growled, pulling her back into his arms. Her father had never been this forceful with her, and she half expected him to hurt her. She yelped when he wrapped his arms around her but found that he'd pulled her into a hug. He held her gently and spoke softly, "Please. Don't go. Please."

The plea hit her hard. She wanted to face him but realized that she couldn't without seeing her dead mother behind him. Just thinking about it was too much and she whimpered, "It's my fault isn't it?"

He didn't answer and Mimi worried. Normally, he'd answer right away to tell her it wasn't. But he didn't this time, and it was all the answer she needed. If he wasn't saying it, then he was thinking it. He blamed her. That had to be it. She broke free of his hold and said, "I'm sorry dad."

"Mimi! Wait!" he called after her. She didn't look back and continued on - away from here. Her hold on Tanemon became more firm and her partner asked, "Mimi! Where are we going?"

She didn't answer.

* * *

Joe met with his parents right away with Bukamon in his arms. His father had stopped checking on the wounded to talk to his mother until he noticed his return, "Welcome back Joe."

Joe greeted his parents formally with a bow which his father returned and asked, "What did your friend want to talk to you about."

"He said that we have to go back to the Digital World. It's our job to save it," Joe explained to his parents. Both of his parents looked up and his mom asked, "That's it up there, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's right. Something about boundaries and worlds colliding or whatever," Bukamon added miserably, "That guy needs to stop talking in riddles."

Joe sighed, "He did say that we don't have to go back if we don't want to. If I understood right, destiny is off course and there's no guarantee that we'll survive if we go with him."

"And what are you going to do, Joe?" his mother asked, beaming with pride. Joe looked skyward, "I don't really think there's much thought to give. I'm going."

"Wait, what? Joe! Are you feeling alright? That doesn't sound like you! You've always been a worry wort when it comes to danger!" Bukamon said quickly, never knowing Joe to not be worrying about something. It seemed odd for him to knowingly go along with something so dangerous. Joe patted his partner's head, "To be honest Bukamon, we've always been in danger. From the very moment we ended up in the Digital World a few weeks ago. Or yesterday. Whatever, this is confusing. Look, we've always been in danger and there's always been something to worry about. So really, what's changed? You could say we don't have a plan, but we've never really had a plan. I mean Tamer has but we haven't. You could say we might die, but that's always been true. And it's been beaten into us from the beginning that it's our destiny - or whatever. I still don't buy into that part - that we were chosen for a reason because I can't figure out what that reason is supposed to be. I'm not happy about it either. No one asked us. It just happened. But it's our responsibility, so we should see it through to the end."

"That was…real mature of you Joe," Bukamon said in astonishment of his partner. Perhaps he had never really given the glasses wearing boy the credit he'd deserved. Joe adjusted his glasses, "Stop. You're embarrassing me."

It was only then that Bukamon noticed his buddy was in fact adjusting his glasses to mask that he was covering his face. He could only imagine how red the boy was behind his hand. His mother placed a hand firmly on his shoulder, "That's our son."

"Mom…" Joe's voice broke and sounded childish.

"Don't be embarrassed by your mother son," his dad told him.

"Dad, come on!" Joe's voice cracked, "I was trying to be…y'know, cool."

"You're always cool to us son," his mother sighed. Joe groaned and Bukamon noticed the playful grin on his mother's face. Perhaps he'd suddenly given Joe too much credit. He may be mature, but he was still a kid. He smiled as the parents hugged their son.

* * *

Izzy wasted no time telling his parents everything - everything that Tamer had told them and that it was their choice if they wanted to go back or not. His parents were distraught before but were terrified now. His mother hugged him close and pleaded, "Izzy, please tell me you're not going!"

"I have to, mom," Izzy said meekly, "The Digital World, the place where we went, is hovering over our heads! And if what he said is true, that world is hurtling towards us! I have to go. I…I want to go. If I don't, then how can I protect you?"

His mother's eyes widened when she heard those words and a smile drew itself on her lips, "I know…I'm just scared, honey. I wish we could protect you like you protected us."

"Don't worry! I'll protect him for you!" Motimon assured his mother, "Besides, I'm sure Izzy has another person in mind he wants to protect!"

"Motimon!" Izzy pleaded to his partner, but it was too late. His parents' curiosity was peaked and his dad asked, "Someone else?"

"Yeah, it's-" before Motimon could finish his sentence, they caught a glimpse of someone in a pink dress running past in a hurry. Mimi had run right past them with Tanemon in her arms. Although they'd all seen the same thing, Motimon still asked, "Mimi? Where's she going?"

"I don't know. Mom, dad, I'll be right back!" Izzy said as he went after the girl. Motimon hopped out of his arms and commented, "And there he goes."

"Um, your name is Tentomon, right?" Izzy's mom asked anxiously of the little blob. Motimon bobbed up and down as he spoke, "Actually! I'm Motimon now! Tentomon is my digivolved form!"

"Okay, Motimon. What was that you were saying about Izzy having someone else he wants to protect?" Izzy's dad asked. Motimon pointed after Izzy, "Isn't it obvious?"

The parents looked down in the direction their son had run and it dawned on them that he seemed to have started noticing girls. They'd known their son a long time and never knew him to be away from any form of electronics for long. Both of them were less than willing to let him go off and fight monsters, but they let him go anyway. This was something neither were quite ready for, nor were they sure what to do. It was just too mind boggling to consider the reality before them, their son had an interest in a girl.

Izzy called out after Mimi as she ran, "Mimi! Mimi! Stop running!"

"Go away Izzy!" Mimi shouted back at him as she ran across the street, past the ruined buildings and bodies to go hide in an alley. Izzy followed her and saw her huddled on the ground with Tanemon in her arms. Her partner was trying to talk to her but Mimi wasn't responding. Izzy gasped for breath once he'd caught up to her, realizing he needed to get out more, and asked her, "What happened? What's wrong?"

"The hell do you think Izzy? Why are you so dense!?" she almost bit his head off, but she never once turned to look at him. Izzy looked at the girl and said, "Mimi, I want to help you. Please, I…don't like seeing you like this."

"Everything's wrong, that's what!" Mimi whimpered, "Please, just leave me alone!"

"No Mimi, I won't," Izzy said, "Not until you talk to me."

She didn't answer, but stayed in her huddled position. She wasn't crying and that made him nervous. Everything he knew about human emotion suggested that she should be crying, breaking down from all the stress. She wasn't, though. He wanted to say this was like ShogunGekomon's castle but it was worse. So he did the only thing he could do. He waited for her to calm down and talk to him.

"You're such an idiot, y'know that," she stammered out sheepishly. Izzy crouched down across from her on the alley and nodded, "Yes, I am. I admit, I don't get girls and don't pick up social cues well. But that doesn't mean I don't know when someone needs help."

She chuckled to herself between tears, "Idiot."

"Ready to talk?" he inquired of her. She shook her head, "No. I just can't…I can't deal with this."

Izzy examined her carefully; she trembled and her eyes were darting around anxiously. Her smile was forced and the occasionally cracks of a frown were forming at the edges. He said, "I don't think you should go back, Mimi."

"What?" she looked up at him, her interest peaked. He answered, "You're a mess. You shouldn't go."

"I have to go. I can't stay here," Mimi said matter of factly, "I can't…"

It dawned on Izzy that she wasn't going to save the Digital World. She was going to get away, to run from her mother's death. But she couldn't just ignore the problem. He wanted to remind her of that, but then he considered the shape she was in. There was real danger before them. If she went in her current shape, she might just get hurt. Or do something to endanger the others. But then he considered how well they would be able to do without her. The eight of them were chosen to save the Digital World, could they still do it with seven? The debate ran circles around his head and he was unable to come to a conclusion. Without realizing it, he inched over to her, "I get it. But I'm still against you going. If you still want to go, then Tanemon and I will just have to look out for you. Right Tanemon?"

"That's right Mimi! You're not alone in this! We're here for you!" Tanemon said up to her partner. For the first time in a while, Mimi's smile was genuine, "Thanks."

* * *

Yuuko Kamiya was not prepared for anything that happened today. She wasn't prepared for the monsters to show up. She wasn't prepared to watch one eat a regular customer at the convenience store where she worked. She wasn't prepared to run past an army of these things as they killed everyone around her. And she certainly wasn't prepared to see her son come back from the dead. He led them along the street without saying a word, a situation made more uncomfortable by the sheer amount of devastation around them. Finally, the little ball in his hands broke the silence, "Hey, Tamer. Where are we going exactly?"

"Nowhere, I'm just trying to look like I know what I'm doing because I honestly have no idea what to say," her son said, "I mean…I guess I'm Kari's brother? There's only a vague memory and I'm not sure how much of it isn't just something my mind came up with in the heat of moment. If it's right, then I guess I am - but then that would make her mom my mom. And what do I say to her after I forced her out of her apartment with whatever she could carry just so that I could blow it up?"

"An apology is usually a nice start," the ball said. Her son stopped, sighed, and turned to face her. She had no idea what had happened in the time since she last saw him all those years ago. He still looked young and his expression was usually one of confidence but the look in his eyes was so different. They were much older, more tired and weary and carrying so much baggage that she couldn't even begin to fathom what he'd been through. He started, "I'm sorry…about the apartment. And freaking you out. And everything else."

"I'm…just glad you're all safe," she replied to him. Kari patted Nyaromon playfully and asked, "Y'know, I just noticed: Where's Miko?"

Tamer paused, "I think I might have left him or her in that apartment we were hiding in. Was it a boy or a girl? I guess it doesn't matter. We should probably go back and get the little thing."

"Miko probably doesn't mind. Miko was always the kind of kitty to go wander off," Kari said happily, "You're not like that, are you Nyaromon?"

"Not if there's catnip," the little cat digimon replied to Kari's delight, "We have plenty of that back in…oh, right."

"Sorry, again," her son apologized sheepishly when he saw Kari's face sadden. She perked up and cheerily said, "I don't care. You're back now Tai!"

"I still don't get why she's allowed to get away with it," the little ball sighed. Her son shushed it, "Quiet Koromon. So…um…Kari's mom. Well, I guess I should call you mom."

She felt a pang of happiness when he said those words. Kari mentioned something about him starting to remember, and maybe this would help jog his memories. But all of that sank away when he scoffed, "That's weird. I've never had to call anyone mom before. Mom, um…no, can't do it. Sorry, I guess I'll stick with Ms. Kamiya. It feels less awkward to say that. Ms. Kamiya, I kept meaning to ask - where's Mr. Kamiya?"

The question hit harder than it should have. He was asking about his dad. He had to be, but he didn't think of him as dad nor did he think of her as mom. They were Mr. and Ms. Kamiya. The name seemed hardly appropriate anymore as she explained, "He's not around anymore."

"He passed away?" he asked half sincerely. She shook her head, "We're estranged. Not divorced, just not living together."

Kari became quiet when she said those words and her son nodded in understanding, "I see. What happened?"

"After you," she stopped herself when she saw him wince anxiously. He wasn't comfortable with calling her mom yet. There was no way he'd be comfortable with being addressed by Tai. At least, not by anyone other than Kari. It reminded her of how close the two had been when they were younger - and it made her sad that she couldn't have triggered a similar memory in him, "After Tai died, things became difficult. He stayed late at work a lot, then he'd spend his nights drinking so I wouldn't see him until morning. I argued with him over it - I told him that he couldn't neglect his family. When he wouldn't stop, I told him that this was the reason Tai had wandered out with his sister. That was the reason he'd died that night. If he hadn't come home drunk, I wouldn't have had to keep him from waking up the kids, and I would have noticed that they wandered out. That set him off and we argued a lot after that. A few days later, he moved out and we haven't spoken since."

"And Kari was there to watch the whole thing," he had a hint of disapproval in his tone, "Then again, it's no worse than what we have to do. We have to go back to the Digital World and end the fight. It'll be dangerous, and there's a real risk that she won't survive it. But that's a philosophical question isn't it? Which is worse? Trauma from watching your family fall apart or the trauma of having to fight for your life?"

It took a moment for everything he said to register, but she panicked when he realized what he said, "Tai! You can't just take Kari from-"

"I wasn't going to. It's her choice, isn't it?" he said plainly, "She should get to choose whether or not she goes."

She saw her daughter grow anxious and came to defend her, "That's not a responsibility you can put on a little girl."

"That's why I'm giving her the choice. She and Nyaromon can stay here if they want. It's up to them. No one else should have to get involved in this because of…me."

"Besides, we'll be fine if it's just the two of us so there's no reason to worry," the little bunny eared ball in his arms finally said. Her son stroked his hand along the ball's head, "I've said what I needed to say. We'll leave you guys alone to talk. If you decide to go, we'll be waiting back at the police station. If not, then this is good bye."

"Tai! You can't just go!" Kari said suddenly, latching on to her brother with one hand. He patted her on the head and smiled, "I have to Kari. You can come with if you want. But you need to know that it won't be safe, it won't be calm. You'll see a lot of digimon, lands where unconnected phones get calls from anywhere, vending machines are just closets, and coliseums have televisions. It's a once in a life time trip, but that trip may end up being very short and you may never return to your mom."

"Aren't you all joy?" Nyaromon commented, to which he apologized, "Sorry. You guys can talk. We're going back."

He departed with his little ball friend and left them standing there. When she looked around, Yuuko realized that he'd led them all the way back to their ruined apartment. The fire had burned apart their small home and some of the surrounding apartments too. By some miracle, it hadn't spread out of control and petered out to smoke instead. Soldiers from the SDF were working their way through the area to make sure there was no one trapped inside. It was hard to think that they were here just hours ago, hiding for their lives.

She took one look at her daughter and immediately knew what the little girl was thinking, "No."

"Mom! I have to go!" she pleaded.

"No means no, Kari," she told her daughter, "I can't be okay with this a second time! I don't care how much adventure he brought up!"

"Mom, I don't care about that!" Kari said out loud, "That's the Digital World up there! Right Nyaromon!"

She looked at the little yellow cat in her arms and it nodded, "Yeah, that's it."

"That's where Tai was, wasn't he," Kari said more than asked. Nyaromon looked at her quizzically, "If you mean The Digimon Tamer, yeah. He and Koromon have been fighting digimon like Myotismon and his masters for a long time."

"And that changed him, didn't it?" Kari guessed, "That's why he forgot!"

"I guess. I don't really know," Nyaromon frowned, "I didn't really talk to the guy. We were usually trying to kill each other."

Kari gave the little cat a look of disapproval and it added, "But that was before we met and I found out we were supposed to be partners, Kari! Honest."

"It's okay," her little girl sighed, "But that just means we have to go to find out. If we go with him to the Digital World, maybe we can find out what happened. We can find out why he's like this!"

Yuuko looked at her daughter and tried to come up with a counter argument. It was dangerous, it was risky, she might not come back. But part of her wanted to know what happened to her son to make him forget. Why couldn't he remember her? He vaguely remembered Kari, so why not his own mother? She realized it would be stupid to let her daughter go out and do this on her own and said, "Okay. But we're going together. I hate it, but I need to know."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Decisions have been made and it's time for the digidestined to go back. What awaits them on the other side? Will they survive their adventure to the Digital World or will they perish? Find out in the next chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure due out in one week on Friday, August 19th at 5PM CST. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism and speculation on the next chapter. I usually reply in a day or two, unless it's a guest review. Then I'll reply in the next chapter's Author's Notes. Guests are reminded that they need to sign their reviews to get a response. Now for lines from the next chapter:

"That was a close call. It looks like you were right to call for my blessing Joe!"

"I think I preferred them without the quips," the second voice hissed.

"Will you two stop slapping each other for one second and tell us what's going on!" Mimi shrieked at them.

"I am not a mommy's boy!" TK yelped.

"Tai, are we going to be okay?" Kari looked up to him worriedly.

…

 **Guest Review Responses**

 **KRUSA1:** A wizard did it. Or in this case, a certain brown haired idiot and his talking dinosaur friend.


	36. The Dark Masters

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hey readers! Welcome back to the start of the Dark Master Arc of the The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure. I want to give a big thanks to all the readers who left reviews and liked or favorited the story! I wouldn't be here without you guys! And I want to give a big thanks to Ace Spiritwell for doing the coverart for this story. Check out their fanfiction account and give their profile on deviantart a look. Alright, I present to you the next chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 36: The Dark Masters**

It was dark in Myotismon's Castle. He preferred it dark because he was a vampire, but the current occupants kept it dark as they'd purposefully blocked out the sun in this part of the Digital World. Outside, violent wind storms blew across a baron land scape while inside the air was still and only silence could be heard through its vast halls. Atop the highest tower was an observatory being used by four foul beings. The first had a long, slender body covered in golden plates which parted into two tails. Mechanical tubing fed down the long body of the creature from a golden helmet from its head. A single long metal blade protruded from the end like a spike and a gaping cannon held the place of its nose.

The second was a large machine made in the shape of a dragon, plated in grays and blacks. Every limb and joint was mechanical, whirring and whizzing as they moved. Mounted on its back were two large cannons that adjusted and raised themselves according to wherever the creature chose to attack.

The third was smallest and most humble appearing of the four, standing in stark contrast to the former. While it was a large mechanical dragon, the third was a small wooden puppet complete with strings and a controller bar mounted to its bag. It carried with it a large wooden hammer and dressed in ragged doll clothes consisting of a red cap and blue overalls.

The last could be considered the most normal of the other digimon - dressed in a single red overcoat with a white ruff around his neck. Decorated across the coat were the symbols for the four suits - a heart, a spade, a diamond, and a club - each positioned to match the fours swords on its back that all fit into a cross shaped sheathe. Each sword was inserted at a different end of the cross and came together in the cross shape. Its green pants and a pair of bright yellow boots contrasted with the rest of its attire, a regal affair that seemed to almost mock the importance of its clothing. Flaming red hair came out from the back of its head and was styled straight back like a sharp knife. It finished its attire with a black and white mask that concealed a pale white face with bright red lips. The creature stared straight into a telescope that was angled skyward towards a world that appeared in the sky of the Digital World. While observing through it, the fourth mused, "It seems that Myotismon wasn't able to defy his fate. The Digimon Tamer and Agumon are returning."

"So Myotismon failed," the second said defeatedly, "We've been at this a thousand years. What's the point?"

"You idiot. We don't want to die! That's the whole point!" the first almost growled. The third laughed playfully, "And to have some fun while we're doing it! We might as well enjoy what we do!"

"Analysis after analysis has reached the same conclusion every time. No matter how much new data we add, or how many variables we account for, the conclusion is the same," the second stated with its mechanical voice, "We cannot win. We can never win."

"Don't tell me this talk of destiny is getting to you," the first hissed impatiently, "Destiny said that the Ancients would survive the war. Do you see any Ancients here?"

"We cannot ignore the outcome of the algorithm," said the second.

"Then perhaps we need a new formula," the fourth proposed excitedly, "Mix things up. Let's make a grand entrance for the digidestined. Myotismon may have failed but he succeeded in one crucial area: he proved the digidestined can be broken. If we can break them, we can beat them."

The third looked up at the world in the sky playfully, "You mean the girl? She looks like she'll be the most fun to play with! Or maybe the youngest ones! They look like they would love my toys!"

"I believe it would be best to roll out the welcome mat for the digidestined's arrival," the fourth cackled gleefully. He turned to the first, "Fetch the prisoners and bring them to the gate."

"Yes. And you should get your soldiers ready!" the first told the second. The second's expression was unable to change because of its static metallic helm, but they could sense its disapproval all the same. It sighed, "I'll dispatch a division of my best shooters."

"And I'll bring all of my favorite toys!" said the third, "Oh! This will be so much fun!"

"Then let us go to greet our visitors!" said the fourth, "MetalSeadramon, Machinedramon, Puppetmon, and I, Piedmon, shall give the digidestined a welcome they won't forget, because they won't live to remember."

"You're really bad at the evil speeches."

* * *

Wizardmon didn't wait long for the others to return. Joe and Bukamon were the first ones back, followed by Matt, TK, Tsunomon, and Patamon. Sora and Yokomon came next and asked, "Is it just us so far? Where's Mimi and Izzy?"

"Here," Mimi said on approaching, appearing tired and downtrodden. She seemed resigned and tired now, but was less agitated than before. Meanwhile, Izzy seemed nervous but carried a more upbeat personality. Bukamon wasted no time asking, "What's with you two? Did we miss something?"

"Nothing happened," Izzy said quickly, "It looks like we're all here."

"Not all of us," Wizardmon sighed, "We're still waiting for The Tamer, Koromon, Kari, and Nyaromon. I'm glad you've all decided to go."

"We had our reasons," Mimi said sheepishly, hugging her partner more tightly. Izzy agreed, "It's safer if we all go together."

"That's right," Yokomon agreed, "If we stick together, then who cares about destiny?"

"It's our responsibility to see this through to the end," Joe agreed.

"For better or for worse, right Matt?" Tsunomon looked up at his partner cheerfully. Matt nodded and tussled his little brother's hair. TK giggled excitedly and asked, "So when do we go back?"

"Soon," Koromon called out to them. He and Tamer approached them and Tamer patted his partner on the head quietly, "So you've all decided to come?"

"That's right," Sora nodded, "We're all going. Where's Kari?"

"I left her alone to go talk with her mom," he answered quickly, "I figured if they were going to decide if she should go, I shouldn't be too involved."

"Which is why you spent so much time dressing up the Digital World as a nice place," Koromon commented in disbelief. Tamer sighed, "Every word was true and I didn't exactly leave out that she might die."

"Honestly, that does sound like something you'd do," Sora pointed out. Tamer responded with annoyed grunt, "Whatever. We'll just have to wait a little longer for the Kamiyas."

"You're a Kamiya," Koromon added, a point Tamer ignored entirely. They waited in anxious silence for Kari and her mom to return. It wasn't a long wait and they gave their answer right away when they did, "We're going with you. To the DigiWorld."

"DigiWorld. That's new, haven't heard it be called that yet," Tamer mused excitedly at Kari, "So that's all of us. Is everyone ready?"

"Yes, we are," her mom answered, to the surprise of everyone else. Mimi was the first one to remark on her comment, "Wait, you're coming?"

"No, you're not," Tamer said right away, which angered the mom, "Yes I am! I'm going with you Tai."

"And how are you going to do that without one of these?" he asked seriously while showing his digivice, "Sure, you could latch on to Kari - but it only supports two lifeforms. Nyaromon will have to stay behind. You can try to force it, but who knows what will come out the other side? Kari will be safe, but maybe only half of Nyaromon will show up and half of you. Or, you any Nyaromon will fuse into being. A cat-girl. That could be interesting. Wait, what am I saying? You might be my mother! Nope, still weird to say. Then again, the scie-"

"What's he doing?" Kari's mom asked them. The digidestined shook their heads and Koromon said, "Give him a minute. He'll run out of steam eventually."

"-isks are too great to warrant any insight. Sorry, what were we talking about?"

"We're talking about bringing me to the Digital World," Kari's mom replied. Tamer laughed, "Nice try. You can't come."

"Why not!?" her mom snapped.

"Did you miss the part where I said you need a digivice? You're not coming," Tamer growled. She asked, "Then where do I get one?"

"You don't," Tamer said. Kari's mom hissed, "Why? Because I wasn't chosen?"

He looked at the woman who might be his mother stupidly and cocked his head to the side"Yes, basically. And don't ask me why your daughter was because I had nothing to do with it. The fact is, she was chosen and you weren't. She can go, you can't. It's no wonder you two didn't take long to decide."

"Don't you take that tone with me!" her mother snapped. Tamer opened his mouth to respond, only to find himself smacked across the back of the head by Mimi, "Stop it. You're being a jerk again."

Nyaromon smiled, "Finally, someone hit him."

Tamer massaged the back of his head and sighed, "Fine. It's almost time to go back so I need to know now. Are you going to go to the Digital World?"

Kari's mother looked down on her little girl and she said, "I have to go mom. This might be the only way."

"I know, I just...I'd feel better if I could go with you," her mom sighed, "You'll take care of her, right Tai?"

"Digimon Tamer," he replied under his breath, "I'll do my best, but I'm not making promises. She might not come back."

"Tai! Promise me," their mother said again. Tamer stared into her eyes and sheepishly answered, "I can't."

She became distraught when she heard those words, on the verge of breaking down again. So Sora jumped in and took hold of Kari, "Forget about him. I'll take care of her!"

"Sora?" she said quietly, before hugging the girl, "Thank you. Please take care of them! Both of them!'

Sora could see the pleading look on her face, but only the others could see how distraught she looked herself. Sora smiled, "I'll do my best. I promise. I'll protect Kari and keep Tai out of trouble."

"Digimon Tamer," he said again, earning him an elbow in the rib. Relief washed over their mother's face and she kissed her daughter on the forehead, "Come back safe, Kari."

"I will mom," Kari hugged her mother tight. Her mother returned the hug and the two held each other for a long time.

"I'll be waiting," the mother told her as she finally let her daughter go. Tamer called them all to make a circle in the middle of the street while he asked again, "Okay, is everyone ready to go back?"

"As we'll ever be," Bukamon said anxiously. Tamer showed them his aged digivice and pointed to two buttons on it, "Press these buttons at the same time. On three...one, two, three!"

They did as instructed and their digivices beeped to life, "Okay. You're all linked to my digivice now. It'll pull you guys through with me. Stay close to each other and don't let go of your digimon, no matter what. Keep your hands and feet inside the right at all times. In the event of an emergency, tuck your head between your knees and try to throw up on your parents! On my go. Digiport Open!"

He thrust his digivice skyward and a rainbow of lights appeared over head - the aurora borealis from earlier that marked their first trip to the Digital World. Right on signal, eight beams of light descended from the Digital World upon the children. The familiar feeling of floating over took the kids as Joe asked, "We're not going to be flooded by water again, are we?"

"No, but you may feel a sudden flying sensation," Koromon said, wrapping both of his ears around Tamer's arm. Joe popped an eye brow in disbelief then noted that Tamer's feet were no longer touching the ground, "What? What's happening?"

The digivices in their hands started floating upwards, pulling the children along with them. The kids hung on tight in fear, as they were pulled skyward into the rainbow colored lights. They clung to their digimon too, afraid of dropping them or letting them fall to their deaths. TK laughed playfully, "No way! We're flying!"

"Hold on tight, Nyaromon," Kari said to her little partner. The others awed in astonishment as they were pulled skyward, while Tamer and Koromon were relaxed through the whole experience. They heard voices below calling up to them; their parents shouting at them to be safe and to come back alive.

"It seems your family is trying to wish you farewell," Wizardmon commented, surprising them as they realized he was right beside them, "What are you...how are you doing that? I thought Tamer said you needed a digiv-"

"I lied," Tamer stated bluntly, to Kari's surprise, "Tai! You can't just lie to mom like that!"

"You saw what Myotismon did," Tamer's tone became more serious, "There's a lot worse than him where we're going. It'd be better if we didn't bring any of your parents into this."

As they ascended skyward, they took note of three military helicopters comings towards them fast, their blades spinning so fast that they could feel the air being whipped around them. Izzy went into a panic and asked, "Uh, guys. Those helicopters are getting close."

"Maybe they're just trying to get a look?" Motimon suggested, "It's not everyday another world appears in the sky and a rainbow bridge connects the two."

"If they keep coming like that, they're going to crash into us!" Yokomon panicked.

Tamer started counting down aloud, "Five…four…three…two…one…now."

Right away, the helicopter's blades slowed down and the lights went out along the fuselage. They lost altitude and began their descent, one fell onto the street below and the other two crashed into the water. By some miracle nobody on the ground had gotten hurt by the crash and people were already running to help the injured. Izzy commented, "What happened? It's like they just lost power!"

"It's a side effect of being too close to a dimensional distortion," Tamer explained, "It screws with electronics."

Izzy had already prepared his counter argument, "But our digivices-"

"-are powered by the Firewall, not electricity," Tamer said to him, "Here we go!"

As he said those words, he vanished in a flash of bright light. The lights flashed brighter as they were pulled one by one back to the Digital World. They each felt a falling sensation, followed by a sudden splash of water before falling into darkness - the same as the last two times they'd travelled between worlds. The digidestined and the digimon screamed as they fell through into the Digital World, before they realized they were standing upright in a darkened room.

There was a soft rumble behind them and a bright light that cast shadows behind them started to dim. Behind them were the large stone doors of the gate in Myotismon's Castle slowly closing shut on them with a loud crack. It took the last of the light with it and left them in darkness.

* * *

From the street level, Yukio Oikawa had gone into shock as he lay over the body of his best friend - now dead from the digimon that had torn him in half. His wife and son were here earlier but had to leave because they simply couldn't look at their loved one anymore. The sight of his body, and the thought of how much pain he must have been in when he perished was too much for them. So Oikawa was left alone to grieve over his friend. At some point, he'd started talking to friend's body as if he were still alive. No, not if. He was alive. His best friend wasn't dead. That was a lie. He was right here, lazing about like he always did. The others just didn't get that.

Then the fog cleared to reveal the upside down world in the sky and Oikawa leapt for joy, "Do you see that Hiroki? It's the Digital World! Like we always talked about! That's the world of digimon!"

His friend continued sleeping, ignoring everything that was happening around him. So Yukio gaped up in awe of the world for his friend and recounted to him all the things he'd hoped they could do if they could ever get there. If they could, he wanted the two of them to share in those hopes. His family, his wife and son, would come too and they would be able to meet digimon and they would travel its world. That was the dream, wasn't it?

When the rainbow light came down to connect the two worlds, Yukio's joy turned to curiosity. Then amazement when he saw eight children and eight digimon rising up to the sky. That was when the envy, the jealous fever over took him, "Wait! Wait! Take us with you! Take me with you! Please! Don't leave me here!"

His calls were in vein as the children and the digimon disappeared in a bright flash of light, along with the rainbow that connected the two worlds. He slammed his hand against the cold concrete, "No! Please! It's not fair! Don't leave us like this!"

"Life isn't fair," a voice said behind him. He turned around and saw his friend's eyes were now wide open. He turned his head to stare at Yukio, "That's why you have to seize what you want for yourself. Even if it means playing the long game."

"What? No, Hiroki! You're dead!" Yukio backed away from his friend, watching the man force himself up even though he was just a torso. He smiled, "What do you mean Yukio? I'm alive! You were telling me all about the Digital World in the sky, remember."

"No, this isn't right. This isn't-"

"Do you want to go?" Hiroki asked, giving Yukio pause, "Go?"

"To the Digital World?" A twisted smile contorted onto his face as his lips parted wide to bare his bloodied teeth, "We can go. Together. It will just take some time. Then I can come back. And everything will be just as it was."

"You mean-"

"Yes," Hiroki's impossible smile somehow became wider. Yukio sank to his knees and crawled to his best friend, "Yes! Hiroki, yes! I'll do whatever it takes! Take me to the Digital World! You'll come back and we can travel together! You can bring your family too! Cody and Fumiko!"

"That's the spirit," Hiroki encouraged his friend.

"What do I have to do?" Yukio asked his friend, grasping on to him.

"Sleep," Hiroki's mouth opened wide to reveal a chasm of darkness that crawled out from within. Yukio dropped his friend and watched him go limp to the ground, but this didn't abate the darkness. It charged and enveloped Yukio, crawling up his body and restricting his movements. His heart raced when it pried his mouth open, only to crawl its way inside and choke him from within. Breathing became difficult and the world faded to darkness.

* * *

"Is everyone okay?" Tamer asked aloud, "Kari? Nyaromon?"

"We're fine," Nyaromon answered, groaning from the sudden stop. The others murmured they were fine and Tamer took a quick head count to make sure they were all here. Kari looked around them and asked, "Where are we?"

"We're back in the Digital World," Koromon answered, "Right back where we left."

"No way! You mean this is Myotismon's Castle?" Bukamon asked, "How can you tell? It's so dark!"

Tamer mumbled something about the castle not always belonging to Myotismon and replied, "I set our digivices to bring us all back here. It shouldn't be this dark though. Give me a second."

They could hear the familiar sound of button presses on a digivice's screen before the lights came on. The first light came upon them, and revealed them all standing before the now closed gate with one marked difference - Tamer's clothes were replaced with his long black pants and black sweater sweater worn beneath a white robe with a grey trim. Tanemon was the first to pick out the change, "Hey! You're clothes!"

"Hm? Oh, haven't worn these in a while," Tamer remarked as he looked down at his new clothes. He inspected the robes carefully, and even took note of the white boots. However, only he had achieved a new set of clothes. Motimon asked, "That's weird, why is he the only one to get new clothes?"

"These aren't new, these are…what my people wore," Tamer answered quietly, "If anything, this is just what my cloak used to look like before it go so…old."

"Now that you mention, it does sort of look like your old cloak," Izzy noted curiously. Everyone else saw the glimmer of curiosity on Mimi's face but didn't say a thing about it. Lights continued buzzing to life to reveal the darkened cave they were in.

The final light came on to show a group of Gekomon and Otamamon bound by ropes. They lay on the ground unconscious, beaten with injuries and bruises. Joe gasped and ran straight for the Gekomon, "Hey! Are you okay? Hey!"

The green reptile stirred, "Huh? It's you!"

It shot up and grasped on to Joe's shirt, "You shouldn't be here! Go!"

"Not before we get you guys out of these ropes," Matt blurted out as he started working on the ropes. The others joined in trying to undo the bindings until Koromon digivolved to Agumon and cut the ropes with his claws. Once they were all freed, Tamer asked the Gekomon, "What happened to you guys?"

"Tamer! Thank goodness you're here!" the Gekomon pleaded, "We tried to fight! We really did! But they were just too strong! You have to run, or they'll get you too! Please! Save yourselves!"

"Save ourselves from who?" Izzy asked the Gekomon, "Who were you fighting?"

"The Dark-"

Before the Gekomon could finish its words, a loud bang echoed and a beam of light turned its head to data. The body slumped over and followed suit, leaving nothing behind. Additional beams shot forth from the darkness and turned the captured digimon to data, followed by mechanical stomping like thunder. Digimon emerged from the dark - Mekanorimon with their arms outstretched and cannons aimed towards the digidestined. Agumon smiled and tried to lighten the mood, "Well hey guys! Great welcome party, but you didn't have to bring so many friends!"

The Mekanorimon remained silent and Bukamon added, "I don't think they want to throw us a party."

"Tai, are we going to be okay?" Kari looked up to him worriedly.

"Of course not. But they're not going to kill us. Yet, anyway," Tamer pointed out. He walked towards the Mekanorimon and asked, "Are you? If you were going to kill us, you'd have done it by now. So where's your bo-ACK!"

Tamer leapt towards Agumon and smacked him across the back of the head. Agumon returned the favor and punched the boy in his stomach. The two started fighting each other while Sora asked, "Tamer! Agumon! What are you two doing?"

"This really takes the cake for all the stuff they get up to," Yokomon said, as the two barreled right through the center of the group. The digidestined and their digimon moved out of the pair's path while Tamer shouted, "This isn't on purpose!"

"I think we're being controlled! It has to be-" Agumon's mouth slammed shut before he could answer.

"It has to be who?" Izzy asked Tamer. He tried to answer, only to scream when his mouth slammed on his tongue. Tanemon sighed, "Those two are hopele-Eh! Help!"

She started spinning in place on one leg like a ballerina while the other digimon leapt to the ground to join her in dance. Tsunomon yelped, "Help! I'm getting dizzy!"

"Speak for yourself! I didn't know I had it in me!" Motimon mused while performing some odd dance from yesteryear. The digidestined were just as confused as the others until Izzy noted, "You guys aren't doing that voluntarily are you?"

"Of course not!" they said together. Tamer and Agumon tried to speak too but were unable to do so with their mouths shut. Realization struck the little boy and he said, "I get it! You're being-"

Before he could finish, Mimi threw herself on to him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Everyone else blushed at the display, and Matt went ahead to cover both TK and Kari's eyes. TK stuck out his tongue in disgust while Sora said, "Mimi, I don't think now's the time for-"

"It's not me! Something made me do it!" she said defensively, "Izzy! That had better not be you making your hands go there!"

She was so much taller than the boy and she obscured him so well that it was anyone's guess where his hands were going. He didn't respond either, which didn't help his case. The others finally figured it out when Matt took Sora by the hand and started dancing with her in a waltz, while TK froze in place for Kari to press her face against his cheek, and Joe jumped in the middle of the dancing digimon. Both little kids retched at what was happening to them while Matt started shouting into the air about leaving the little kids alone.

Joe in particular was not amused but seemed to dance more gracefully than his lanky appearance would suggest.

Whoever was doing this to the digidestined didn't take politely to Matt's shouting and promptly dragged them all upwards by their ankles. Everyone screamed in surprise as they dangled upside down, with the only clear sight below them being the Mekanorimon keeping their weapons aimed at them. Joe bemoaned, "What is going on? Tamer! Agumon! What is happening right now?"

The two were unable to answer as their mouths still refused to work and their hands were busy slapping away at each other. It was obvious from their expressions that they were furious with their predicament.

"Will you two stop slapping each other for one second and tell us what's going on!" Mimi shrieked at them.

"Yeah! I know you two bicker a lot but this is ridiculous," Nyaromon added of the two while they continued slapping away at each other. Kari pleaded of her brother, "Tai! Please! Stop it! Agumon! Don't hurt each other!"

Her pleas fell on deaf ears as the two laid into each other. Through the darkness, they heard a shrill childish laugh mock them, "Aw! The poor kiddies are helpless!"

"Hmm...let's not waste anymore time and waste them already!"

"Perhaps the algorithms were wrong. Fate predetermined that we would be helpless, but it seems they are helpless."

"But where to start? Shall we start with the oldest and work our way down, forcing the youngest to watch in utter horror as everyone they know and love dies? Or perhaps save the oldest for last so that they know that everything they've ever done has been for naught?"

There was a moment's silence as the digidestined and their digimon stared into the darkness in complete shock. Then the first voice said, "Huh, normally those two have some kind of quip by now."

"You closed their mouths shut, remember?" the second voice pointed out. The first voice clicked its tongue, "Oh right."

They heard a snap and both their mouths came open at the same time. In unison, they said, "Puppetmon!"

"I have no strings to hold me up! There are no strings on me! But I have strings on you. Look at what I can make you do!" the first voice sang as Tamer and Agumon began dancing involuntarily. Although, the two seemed to be enjoying it, "Nothing like a bit of dancing to cool you down after a nice spar!"

"I'd prefer some stretches myself," Agumon thought aloud, "Am I the only one who sees an irony in here?"

"I think I preferred them without the quips," the second voice hissed. The third added, "I think this is the part where they try to lull us into a false sense of security so that they can more easily trick us later on."

"Nope, no quips. We are completely being pulled by your strings! Literally!" Tamer said. Sora noted the fearful look in his eyes and realized that he may genuinely have no plan to get them out of their predicament. She looked at Agumon because he was always easier to read but he looked just as helpless. It was obvious that they were just trying to buy time now.

"Do whatever you want with us and we'll have no choice to obey!" Agumon added, "Think about it! You could have us do a synchronized ice skating routine! We'll call it Digidestined on Ice!"

"I think I'd like to put some digidestined on ice," the fourth voice said menacingly, "Or perhaps we should do it with fire?"

As it spoke, a display of fire encircled them and burning them with its heat. They could feel the sweat pouring down their skin and Tanemon yelped, "This heat! It's too much!"

"You're killing us!" Joe shouted.

"That's the idea, isn't it?" the second voice said with just as much malice, "Or maybe you'd prefer to be drowned!"

A torrent of water fell on them from above. They were helpless upside down and could do nothing as some of the water made its way into their noses, making them gag and cough. They tried holding their breath but that only did them so good for so long as they had to breath eventually. This led to them getting mouthfuls of water whenever they tried to breath, and they were forced to close their mouth again. The water stopped and they took the chance to gasp for breath. The third voice declared, "Enough! This is why the others failed. They toyed with the digidestined instead of flat out destroying them."

"What's it to you? You're the one who spent the last hundred years moping about inevitability?" asked the second.

"He is right. Let us make a grand entrance before taking a bow for the digidestined's finale," the fourth voice sang. The light's came on to introduce each of the four voices as the fourth voice continued, "Tonight's performance was brought to you by the Dark Masters. In charge of puppetry, Puppetmon! Stage hands and technical direction was handled by Machinedramon! Water works and mood provided by MetalSeadramon! And the lead director for the performance was I, Piedmon!"

Each Dark Master appeared as they were introduced: a wooden puppet, a metal dragon, a mechanical serpent, and a clown with swords. Although only two of them were actually intimidating, the way they'd introduced themselves more than made it clear that they were not playing games. Of course, none of that mattered as Tamer and Agumon began booing them, "Boo."

"This play sucks."

"Guys! Don't aggravate them!" Sora shouted at the two. Tamer winked, "Or what? They'll kill us faster? The fact that they haven't yet means that they're stalling. It's because their performance sucks and they want applause before they kill us."

"Well, they're not getting any because it sucked," Agumon added.

"They were just talking about it!" Yokomon shrieked at them. Tamer blinked, "Huh, I guess they were. We're still not applauding them."

"So why are you trying to get them to attack us?" Mimi asked, "Or is this what's supposed to happen? We're supposed to die?"

"No, we're supposed to win. But destiny has been derailed. I kept saying that I have no idea what will happen anymore, didn't I? Who knows, maybe we will. But that doesn't mean we're supposed to," Tamer explained, "Like I said, I'm winging things as I go."

While Tamer spoke, Sora noticed that his eyes constantly shifted on to Joe. Joe had his eyes closed and was quietly mumbling to himself but he was too far away for her to hear properly. Not that it mattered since Tamer added, "To be honest, my plan right now really is to buy as much time as I can and hopefully talk them to death. Unless you have a better one?"

"Yes! Literally any plan would be better than that!" Matt shouted at him, "Anything we say will be better than that plan!"

"Oh, like what? Talk them to death even faster?" Tamer asked mischievously. Izzy defended the blonde haired boy, "I'm pretty sure no one would say that."

"Well, we're waiting," Agumon goaded them, looking at the others with earnest expectation. A beat of silence followed before he asked, "Well?"

"Well I can't now because all I _can_ think about now is talking them to death twice as fast," Matt grumbled, making both Tamer and Agumon laugh, "Ha! See? We knew it!"

Mimi growled, "If you weren't all the way over there, I'd slap you!"

"Then I guess it's a good thing that I'm-" Tamer stopped when he found himself moving over to Mimi. Once he was in arms reach, she slapped him as hard as he could while he screamed, "Ow! Why?"

"You know why!" Mimi spouted. Tamer pointed at Puppetmon, "Not you! Him! Why did you put her in arms' reach?"

"I got bored of listening to you guys talk and thought it would be funny," Puppetmon replied, "It wasn't. Let's fix that."

He snapped his fingers and the two slapped each other at the same time. And again. And again. Until both of them had swollen cheeks with red hand marks. Puppetmon laughed out loud, "Ha! Slapstick! Now that's funny!"

"It's not! It hurts!" Mimi whined painfully while TK hissed, "Why don't you leave them alone you big bully!?"

Puppetmon stopped laughing, "What's the matter? Feeling left out? Here, let's fix that!"

With a flick of his fingers, the girls all flew over to TK and hugged him, "There! Now you're not so lonely you little mommy's boy!"

"I am not a mommy's boy!" TK yelped while the girls demanded to be let go. Puppetmon cackled playfully and snapped his fingers again, "Fine! Hold these then!"

With another snap of his fingers, their In-training partners flew into the girls' arms to be hugged tight. So tight, that they turned blue from being unable to breathe. The girls' panicked with Kari saying, "Nyaromon! No! Are you okay?"

She opened her mouth and made shallow gasps for air while Puppetmon's laughter grew louder, "Hahahaha! This is rich! I don't know why the others had so much trouble with these guys! They're not dangerous at all!"

"Enough of this!" Machinedramon snapped and fired beams of energy from the cannons mounted on his back. They struck something above the digidestined and they started falling to the ground with a scream. Thinking quickly, Sora held out her digivice and pointed it at her partner, "Yokomon! Save us!"

"You too Motimon!" Izzy called out.

"Got it!" the two digivolved straight to their champion forms and went to work saving who they could. Birdramon swooped down to catch Sora, Wizardmon, Mimi, and Tanemon on her back. She also grabbed Matt and Tsunomon with her talons. Kabuterimon latched onto Izzy, Joe, Bukamon and TK with his arms. Patamon was able to fly naturally and called out to the four who were still falling, "Oh no!"

Kari, Tamer, Agumon and Nyaromon plummeted to the ground. Tamer grabbed onto the other three and shouted, "Hang on!"

"They're going to fall!" TK shouted out. The others gasped while the Dark Masters cheered at the thought of the first blood drawn. Before they splattered all along the cave floor, a pink bubble appeared around them and cushioned their descent, halting just inches above the floor. The children stared in awe while the Dark Masters booed. Puppetmon whined especially loud, "Aw! That's no fun! What'd you go and do that for Machinedramon?"

"I said we can't waste any time! Let's hurry and finish them!" its mechanical voice echoed, "Mekanorimon! OPEN FIRE!"

"Twin Beams!" the Mekanorimon said in unison at the exact moment they launched their attacks at the digidestined. Kabuterimon and Birdramon were peppered with attacks before they knew what was going on, and regressed to their rookie forms of Biyomon and Tentomon. Everyone thought this was it for them as they all fell to the ground. Sora and Izzy reached out for their partners as they screamed, closing their eyes as they came to a sudden stop without hitting anything. They opened their eyes and found themselves inside a large pink bubble that shielded them from the attack while a new voice spoke, "That was a close call. It looks like you were right to call for my blessing Joe!"

"Piximon?" Bukamon asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I heard someone praying to me. Yup yup," Piximon smiled, floating in the center of the bubble with his spear held high above him. Sora looked over at Joe who was quietly scratching the back of his head, "That was me. Just promise you won't throw us in a cave this time."

"That's okay, I don't think most of you really need the cave anymore," Piximon smiled assuringly, "Which is good news since we won't have time for it. Or rather, you won't. Besides, I'm going to be throwing you out of a cave instead!"

"See, now there's more of them! Why'd you have to go and ruin the mood Machinedramon?" Puppetmon groaned, jumping up and down in place childishly. MetalSeadramon roared, "You idiot! Machinedramon has the right idea! RIVER OF POWER!"

A blast of energy shot out of the cannon on his snout and Piximon smiled, "Time to fly!"

With a twirl of his spear, the pink bubble zipped past everyone and into the depths of the castle. The Dark Masters were left far behind but still had the sense to order their minions after them. They could already hear the thunderous footsteps as hundreds of the Dark Master's soldiers started their pursuit. Amidst all this, Joe sighed, "This isn't exactly the rescue I was hoping it would be."

"What did you expect? I said this isn't my war and I have no interest in fighting guys who can cream me," Piximon said pleasantly, "Yup yup! All the same, I think it's safe to say that this is where my story ends."

"Ends? Piximon! What are you talking about!?" Mimi asked worriedly as they continued flying through the castle. They eventually came to the impossible room full of bridges and stairs that twisted or turned infinitely in random directions. The bubble took the most random route through this room while Piximon explained, "Everything has to end and everything dies, one way or another. That is the truth I learned a long time ago. It has lasting effects on everyone and affects everyone differently. I figured 'why worry about it until I get there'? Well, we're here now. This is the end and there's no point in me delaying the inevitable. But this doesn't mean I'm lying down to die. I accepted my fate a long time ago and am prepared to do what I must. Just as you must be prepared to do what you must. There will be hardship ahead for all of you. But you've each grown since we first met and in different ways. I can tell because a lot of time has passed and each of you is different front before. Use what you know, rely on each other, count on your friends, show courage before danger, spread love through the Digital World, be sincere with yourselves, bring hope to those without, and help bring back the light! Consider this my parting and final lesson to you all."

"Piximon! You can't just die!" Bukamon pleaded only to be ignored. He turned his attention to Tamer and Agumon, "You two never passed the test. I can't blame you for that, but you should know that the reason I never let you back in is because I was scared of what would happen if you went through it again. You've changed since I last saw you, I can see that much. But it doesn't look like it's enough. So this may be my last warning to you. No matter what, do not go in the cave! Not yet, anyway. Do you understand?"

"But-"

"Do you understand?" Piximon said more sternly. Both Tamer and Agumon nodded, "Yes."

Piximon waved his spear again and he moved outside of the bubble, "Good luck digidestined! Don't worry about me! Take care of each other and save the Digital World!"

"Piximon!" TK shouted too late. Piximon waved his spear again and the bubble zipped off at higher speed, through the main room, into a grand entrance hall and out into the courtyard. As the castle disappeared into the distance, they could make out several flashes of lights and loud booms. They pounded against the bubble wall to get out but that did nothing. They continued on over the barren wasteland around Myotismon's Castle, then through forests and deserts and oceans. They went further until they came to a large city.

The buildings were a mix of architectures from different time periods - crystalline white towers reached out into the sky, beside more modern towers, surrounded by smaller buildings made of brick and wood in various states of disrepair. The bubble soared over it until it came to a small side street, where it set everyone down gently. When everyone was safely down, Matt asked, "Where are we?"

"Aca'dehmia," Agumon answered, "The city where the first battle was fought and where the war began."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** The Dark Masters have made their move. Will the digidestined be okay on the run? What will become of Piximon? Where have they found themselves? Find out on the next chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure which will be released in two weeks on September 2nd at 5 PM CST. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I usually reply in a day or two! I also welcome constructive criticism and speculation on the next chapter! Unless it's a guest review, then I'll reply in the next Author's Notes. Just remember that guests have to sign their reviews.

Now for lines from the next chapter:

Sora tried a different method, "Have you remembered anything else?"

"It did! Andromon! Is that you?" Tanemon asked into the darkness.

"Guys! You're forgetting about Piximon! We have to go back and get him!" Mimi scolded them.

Bukamon groaned, "Did you have to be so rough?"

"No buddy. She just wanted to go help Piximon," Matt offered to his little brother.

* * *

 **Guest Review Responses:**

 **NightSeeker:** Thanks for reading and reviewing. No comment at this time.

 **Mr. R:** Thanks for reading and reviewing. Yes to 02 and Tamers, but no comment on Tri. I have a few ideas on what to do with it within the continuity of this story but I want to know where they're going with the main show before that.

 **KRUSA1:** Thanks for reading and reviewing again. While I appreciate your enthusiasm, there are no plans to convert this into a webcomic or a doujinshi. To be honest, I've tried delving into webcomics before and I'm not fond of it.


	37. Aca'dehmia

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Good evening gentle reader. I hope you're enjoying the show. I want to thank all my readers who left reviews, liked, and favorited the story. Let's also give a big shout out to Ace Spiritwell for doing the cover art for this chapter! They did an amazing job, and you can thank them by checking out their deviantart account and their fanfiction profile. And now! The next chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 37: Aca'dehmia**

The digidestined and the digimon looked at the vaguely ruined city around them. The streets were empty and quiet but it felt like it should have been crowded with people or digimon busy going about their days. The city was a marvel of different time periods sitting on top of each other but all of it seemed brand new, as if the builders had no idea what aesthetic to go for as the city was built. Futuristic buildings, modern designs, and antiquated architectures were abundant and made the entire thing a beautiful eye sore. Wizardmon was the most taken aback by the situation, "Aca'dehmia!" The Aca'dehmia!? The heart of knowledge!?"

"What was that about knowledge?" Izzy's interest was peaked.

"Guys! You're forgetting about Piximon! We have to go back and get him!" Mimi scolded them. Izzy patted her back in consolation, "We can't, Mimi. He stayed behind to make sure that we escaped."

"But Piximon!" Mimi pleaded.

"Mimi, he's gone," Tamer said to her, "He's an Ultimate level and those four are Megas! Unless he ran, which he wouldn't have, he's gone."

"I'm not going to let Piximon die like my mom!" Mimi shouted angrily only to be spoken down to, "He's already dead and you will be too if you go back there!"

"I have to try and save him!" Mimi pleaded anxiously, only for Tanemon to call, "Mimi! You'll be killed if you go back!"

"I-"

"Mimi, I get it. I do. But it won't do him any good to go back and it would make his sacrifice in vain," Tamer tried reasoning more seriously with Mimi. He just wasn't the one person she wanted to be talking too at the moment, "Don't tell me what to do!"

"Stop fighting!" Kari pleaded before she started coughing. This fit was worse than the others and it didn't stop. Nyaromon hopped over to her partner, "Kari! What's wrong?"

She couldn't answer as her coughs grew shallow and thin, until she could only gasp for breath between the coughs. Joe and Tamer both separately ran to help her, but she was already sinking to her knees and falling unconscious. Joe placed a hand of her head and said, "Oh wow. She's burning up!"

"That's right! She said she was sick! She passed out when I first met her in the Real World!" Nyaromon said. Wild eyed and worried, Tamer asked, "Will she be alright?"

"I don't know," Joe frowned, "I don't have any medicine and I don't really know what's wrong with her."

"We need to get her to one of the hospitals! They'll have medicine!" Tamer said hurriedly. He scooped up the little girl in his arms, "Come on, let's go! I think I know where to find one."

"What about Piximon!?" Mimi reminded them, "He's still back there!"

"Does anyone even know how to get there?" Tsunomon asked, "It was all kind of a blur."

Mimi looked up and down the many streets around them. There were no landmarks and they had a vague idea of which direction they'd come from. But how far had they gone? How far did they go before they came to Aca'dehmia. It annoyed her but she admitted, "I don't know."

"I do, but I'm taking Kari to a hospital first," Tamer said sternly. Koromon and Nyaromon bounced along after him while he called back, "Joe, I'll need your help."

"Yeah, sure," Joe pocketed his hands and nodded to his partner to follow. Mimi became distraught as one by one, each of the other digidestined and digimon started to follow Tamer. She stamped her foot on the ground, "Guys! Please! We have to save Piximon!"

Izzy stopped in his tracks to look at her, "Mimi, we don't know even know how to get back there. Tamer does and it's obvious he's not going anywhere until Kari gets to a hospital!"

"Then I'll go!" Mimi stamped her foot, "Come on Tanemon."

"Mimi! Wait!" Izzy called after her, "We should stick together! Remember what Piximon said!"

"You guys can stick together if you want! I'm going to go save Piximon!" Mimi shouted back. Tanemon followed along anxiously, looking back at Izzy and mouthing she was sorry for Mimi's behavior. Izzy looked back and forth between the split and pulled Tentomon along with him. He shouted at the others, "Guys! We're going with Mimi to make sure she doesn't hurt herself."

"What? Guys! You cant' just leave! We have to stick together!" Sora shouted after the four, only to find that she was being ignored. She looked back and forth between the two splitting groups - Mimi needed looking after but so did Kari. Who was she supposed to pick? Who should she go with? If she went with Mimi, then the others would quickly fall apart as Tamer grew on their nerves. If she went with Tamer, then Mimi might do something reckless that put them all in danger. She called out to them all, "Guys! Don't wander off! Guys! Tamer! Mimi!"

Tamer stopped in his tracks and asked Joe to hold Kari before coming back, "Hold it! The four of you!"

When they didn't listen, he demonstrated an uncharacteristically high speed of movement when he closed the gap between them and jumped in front of them, "Don't go another inch."

"How did he do that?" Izzy wondered to himself.

"Move," Mimi commanded of him. Tamer stamped his foot on the ground, "Mimi! Running off on your own is only going to cause more problems. Let's stick together for now."

"I'm not going anywhere with you. Get out of my way," Mimi growled. She tried moving around him but he continued to block his path. Tanemon tried again to reason with her partner, "Mimi. Please! He's just worried about you. We all are."

"No he isn't! If he was, he would be doing everything he could to keep these things from happening!" Mimi said with fire in her eyes, "But he doesn't! He just lets more and more people die!"

"He let Wizardmon live," Izzy pointed out, only to get chewed out, "And what makes him so special? Why did you save him and not anyone else?"

"It was a lapse in judgment," Tamer offered sheepishly, only for her to scoff, "Oh, is that what it was?"

"He wasn't supposed to live," Tamer said, sounding like a broken record. Mimi rolled her eyes and pushed past him, "Yeah, I've heard this before."

"Way to blow it," Matt commented from his spot with the others. Tamer clicked his tongue disapprovingly and patted Izzy, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, I'll go with her and keep her out of trouble," Izzy nodded grimly. Tamer motioned to Wizardmon and asked, "Please go with them. It'll be safer if they have someone with them who knows what's going on in this city. If you don't mind."

"I understand," Wizardmon bowed and joined Izzy who looked up curiously, "Why? What's going on with the city?"

"Hopefully, nothing," Tamer frowned and held up his digivice, "Here, set your digivice to Detect Mode. Option 2. Just push that button there."

Izzy did as he was told and was amazed to see eight red dots appear on the screen, one moving away from the rest to indicate Mimi. He grew excited, "Prodigious. Wait, but will Tentomon still be able to digivolve?"

"Don't worry. That stuff just happens naturally. Like a background process that's always running," Tamer held up his digivice to show he had the same screen and whispered, "I'll be watching you guys from mine. Just keep an eye on Mimi. Okay?"

"Okay," Izzy nodded.

"And no matter what happens. Don't let her know about this," Tamer added, "If she does, it won't end well for either of us."

He, Wizardmon, and Tentomon went after Mimi who had already gone further ahead. Tamer watched them disappear before rejoining the others, "The hospital's this way."

"Was that a good idea?" Sora asked her friend. He shrugged, "No clue."

* * *

A tiny wooden spear fell to the stone floor with a rattle while Puppetmon moaned, "That wasn't very fun."

"Hmph, it've been better if you'd let us kill the digidestined instead of wasting time playing with them!" MetalSeadramon grunted his disapproval, "And you! Why were you trying to stop us?"

"Did you forget the prophecy? This is the first step to our defeat! Piximon will sacrifice himself to save the humans and their digimon!" Machinedramon stated matter of factly, "Which is exactly what happened! For the purpose of ending this, I would propose that we finish them quickly but not in the way that was intended."

"I'm intrigued Machinedramon! Do go on," Piedmon mused with his hands clasped together, "What did you have in mind?"

"I'll go out and search for the digidestined. The guards reported seeing the digidestined going in that direction," Machinedramon pointed out into the distance, "There's only one thing there: Aca'dehmia. Now, if things happen as they're supposed to: MetalSeadramon will attack them and fail. However, Aca'dehmia is not in his domain. It is in mine. Therefore, to minimize the risk to ourselves and maximize our chances of success - I would propose that I go to dispose of the digidestined."

"What! Why are you going? If we go together, it doubles our chances!" MetalSeadramon protested.

"According to destiny, you are the first to die," Machinedramon countered quickly, "If you want to further them along and guarantee our defeat, then be my guest! Come along. Just watch out for the Tamer. He and his partner defeat you!"

"Just like he defeats you!" MetalSeadramon shouted back. Puppetmon yawned, "I'm bored. You guys are boring me. I'm going to the forest so that I can play more! Whoever is coming better come soon!"

"I will assemble my army," Machinedramon stated, "We will return after turning that city into a crater!"

"Because it worked so well the first time," Piedmon mused as the tiny wooden puppet and large mechanical dinosaur disappeared into the depths castle. It didn't take long for Machinedramon's legion to march out - Mekanorimon, Guardromon, Tankmon, Megadramon, Gigadramon, and Hagurumon. MetalSeadramon scoffed and departed for his own domain while Piedmon reclined in the air, "Well, this should make for an amusing affair."

He stretched his back and took a relaxed position, made all the more comfortable by the fact that he was resting on thin air.

* * *

Izzy followed along just behind Mimi and Tanemon. Tentomon stumbled along weakly beside him, so Izzy would regularly stop to help his partner along. Wizardmon walked briskly beside the two boys in silence as they made they were through the empty city streets. Occasionally, they would encounter a thick mist but this did little to deter Mimi as she marched on. To help pass the time, Izzy turned to Wizardmon, "So…Wizardmon, what can you tell us about Aca'dehmia? You said it was the 'heart of knowledge'."

Wizardmon marveled at the structures around them as he recounted, "Yes, that was its nickname during the height of Tamer's people, The Digital Ancients or the Sages of Data if you prefer. Apparently, there was a gate here similar to the one in Myotismon's castle. They used it to study and learn from other worlds. The history on this detail is vague - either their exposure to this gate over countless generations made them what they were, or they were never from the Digital World and came here to seek refuge after their own world perished. It's hard to tell the fact from the fiction given how old the stories are."

"Is that why you were so excited to learn the name of this place?" Izzy asked inquisitively. Tentomon looked around, "I guess I sort of get it. All the buildings here that don't look like they don't belong…were they pulled from other worlds too or is this just how it was made?"

Wizardmon tipped his hat up with his explanation, "It's hard to say. The city was built around a gate. Who knows what kind of effect that could have on a civilization after generations of exposure. In any case, they kept all of their cumulative knowledge in one facility - all their prophecies, all their wisdom, all their philosophies and discoveries. I thought I'd never have the chance to see it myself but here we are."

"Why wouldn't you? It seems like there was no reason why you couldn't come here any time," Tentomon commented. Wizardmon lowered his voice, "Because the city was lost during the war - gone in an instant. To this day, it's not known what happened or why. It vanished. But here we are. Perhaps there is a record of what happened during the war and we can lear-"

"Will you stop it and help me find a way back to help Piximon?" Mimi shouted at them from a full block ahead. Izzy looked towards her and noticed two figures in white robes walking towards her. He called out to warn her, only for the figures to pass through her like ghosts and continue walking. She shivered when they did and yelped when she saw what happened, "What is that?"

"I have no idea," Wizardmon said, moving Izzy and Tentomon out of the way as the two figures walked past them. The heard a portion of their conversation as the first said, "-eard that it was Gennai who found those two out there in the forest."

"A human and a digimon, out there by themselves. How do you suppose that happened?" asked the second. The first shrugged, "Does it even matter? They're being taken care of at the-"

It was impossible to hear what they said next as the two continued walking, fading into air as suddenly as they'd appeared. Mimi stammered, "What was that?"

"No idea," Wizardmon murmured, "I'd say ghosts, but they didn't look like Bakemon."

"They were dressed sort of like Tamer," Tanemon noted curiously. Wizardmon's eyes widened and tried to usher them along, "I don't know what that was but it'd probably be best to keep moving."

They continued their trek through the city but the encounter with the two ghostly figures weighed on Izzy's mind. He asked, "Wizardmon, you said the city was lost. What did you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I meant. The city was lost," Wizardmon said nonchalantly. Izzy shook his head curiously, "But you said lost. What does that mean? Why not say destroyed or blown up. Instead you said lost. Maybe it's just from hanging around Tamer too much, but that's a weird choice of words. Unless you literally mean the city was lost. But then how do you lose a city?"

Wizardmon could only shrug and offer his theories, "Who knows? Based on present evidence, I would suspect that the Dark Masters had a hand in it. History states that the Dark Masters disappeared some time shortly after the war ended. If the city came back with the Dark Masters, one has to wonder what else could have come back."

* * *

Tamer and Koromon busted down the door of the hospital and hurried inside. Despite its outward appearance of a modern medical facility, its interior looked like it came off the set of a science fiction movie. Everything from the chairs to the counters to the walls were a slick, plastic white with screens replacing bulletin boards and full size windows that went from the floor to the ceiling. Several gurneys greeted them and Tamer wasted no time placing Kari on one before hurrying her into one of the patient rooms.

Joe and Agumon helped to push the cart through the hall at a hurried pace while Tamer began reading off the signs, "Emergency, Pre-Op, Surgery, Post-Op, Pharmacy! Here!"

He stopped the gurney and ran in through an open door. Beyond, Joe could make out shelves stacked high with boxes of medicine. He couldn't tell what any of them were as they were all marked with the strange hieroglyphs that appeared so commonly in the Digital World. It took him just that second longer to realize that all of the signs were written in the hieroglyphs. He was amused by the idea of how utterly useless he'd be in a place like this and smiled to himself.

The smile vanished when Bukamon said, "I don't think now's a good time to be smiling Joe."

"You're right, sorry," he put a hand on Kari's head and saw that she was burning up, "Agumon, can you wet some towels and bring them here?"

"I can find a bathroom, sure!" Agumon zipped off down the hall. Bukamon hovered over the little girl and Nyaromon took a few hops to join her, "Is she okay?"

"Her fever's getting worse," he commented of the little girl who seemed redder than she was before. Of course, she wasn't the only one who wasn't looking too good. He could see that TK appeared just as unwell and he said, "Don't worry. We'll take care of her."

"I don't like this," TK frowned, "Did Mimi leave because she was mad at us?"

"No buddy. She just wanted to go help Piximon," Matt offered to his little brother. TK still seemed unsure and asked, "Shouldn't we go with her?"

"We'll go looking for her once Kari's all better," Patamon chimed in, "Besides, they have Tanemon and Tentomon, who can both go Ultimate, Izzy who's a computer genius, and Wizardmon who's as smart as Tamer and not annoying. She'll be fine."

"I still feel bad about not going with her. Or going to help Piximon," TK frowned. Joe opened his mouth to say that it wasn't very likely that Piximon was even alive anymore, but stopped when he saw Matt shoot him death glares. Tsunomon spoke up, "He'll be fine! You saw how he rescued us! I bet you he got out of there himself once we were safe!"

TK remained silent. Agumon returned with several damp paper towels, "I'm back! There weren't any towels but the paper ones are two-ply! That should work, right?"

"Yes, thank you Agumon," Joe took them and rested them on Kari's head. She cringed as the cool surface touched her bare skin, but relaxed when Sora lent the girl her hand. Although she was barely conscious, she clung to that hand as hard as she could and forced her eyes open. She smiled and murmured, "Thanks Sora."

Then she was out again. Sora brushed her hand gently and asked, "What's taking Tai so long?"

On cue, the door opened to let two ghostly figures in white robes come out. Sora felt a chill as they exited the room and passed through her without stopping, immersed in whatever they were talking. The first stated, "I don't like this. I disapprove entirely. What is Gennai thinking?"

"Does it matter? They've both agreed to undergo it," the second answered. The first remained unsure, "They hardly think. Does it count?"

"They agreed."

"It took us ten minutes to get a name out of either them. They're either barely sentient or incredibly slow. Plus, they're both just kids. Can they really give consent?"

The first groaned, clearly tired of the issue, "Who even cares? Can we stop arguing about the morality of this and talk about something else?"

"Okay, what do we do if they live?" the two asked, changing the subject but staying on topic.

"We'll worry about that if that happens. Come on. Let's get them prepped for it," the first hurried his pace and the two disappeared down the hall before fading to nothing. In that last glimpse, Sora noticed that they were dressed similarly to how Tamer was now. Everyone else was taken aback by what they saw, "Ghosts!"

"Agumon, where was that bathroom? Because i think I have to go," Tsunomon whimpered.

"Me too," Joe added, hoping that he hadn't quite ruined his shorts. Biyomon turned her head to the side, "Something's not right. The only ghosts that should exist in the Digital World are the Bakemon. So who were they?"

"She's right, ghosts in the Digital World don't normally look like that!" Bukamon agreed quickly, "What did we just see Agumon?"

It was then that they noticed just how spooked Agumon was. The bright orange lizard's eyes were wide open and his mouth hung low, "That...no, that can't be right. We should get Tamer and go."

"Go where?" Tamer said as he emerged from the pharmacy holding a bottle of a white syrup, a syringe, and antiseptic, "What's with you guys?"

"You didn't see that?" Matt inquired and Tamer raised an eyebrow, "What? Mimi run off with Tanemon, Izzy, Tentomon and Wizardmon? Yeah, I saw that."

"No, the two ghosts. These guys just walked out of there and went right past us. They even went right through us like we weren't even here!" TK said quickly, "They were like ghosts! They even had the long white clothes like you-"

TK stopped when Tamer bonked him on the head, "Did you take a hit when Puppetmon was controlling us?"

"Don't hit my brother Tai!" Matt growled at the boy, calling him that explicitly to frustrate him. Tamer clicked his tongue and hit him right back, "Don't call me that, Marc."

Matt clenched his hand into a fist and took a deep breath to keep from decking the kid in the face. He could be such a pain some times but he had to be careful now. There wasn't much point in getting upset over something like this, especially when Tamer was the one holding a bottle of who knows what and a needle. The boy proceeded to the little girl, "How's her temperature?"

"Still high. I'm trying to bring it down with the wet towels," Joe said sheepishly. Once Tamer plunged the syringe into the bottle, Joe asked, "What is that?"

"Potion," Tamer said without skipping a beat, "Or, an antibiotic if you prefer. All you need to know is that it'll make her feel better."

"Hang on, antibiotic? Won't that just make it worse!?" Joe pointed out, "We don't really know what's making her sick! This could just be a head cold. It'd be like going after a fly with a bomb!"

Tamer looked at him quizzically, "And that's different from what I normally do because?"

"She's a little girl! If you give her an antibiotic she doesn't need, it might hurt her!" Joe pointed out. Sora and Nyaromon were finally both concerned, "You shouldn't do that Tamer."

"Or what? She'll get better all on her own? She's passed out!" Tamer said, filling the syringe with the milky white fluid. Sora urged him to reconsider, "Tamer, we can't just put something in her if we don't know if it will hurt her or not!"

"Well it's a good thing I know it'll help," Tamer reasoned, realizing that this wasn't inspiring confidence in anyone. Joe raised his hands cautiously and walked towards Tamer slowly, "Look, just put the needle down and swear you're not going to put anything weird into her."

"Guys, I know what I'm doing. This will help," Tamer said, still holding the needle in his hand. He tapped it a few times and squirted to get out the air bubbles before smiling, "Trust me."

"Trust you? Are you serious?" Bukamon asked disbelievingly as the others were now slowly surrounding the boy. Matt came around the other side opposite of Joe, while Biyomon and Bukamon were hovering over Kari. Tamer sighed, "That's a good point. Agumon?"

"This is all you buddy," Agumon mumbled, staring off down the hall quietly. Tamer took a deep breath and moved swiftly. He held Joe back with one hand, used his leg to kick the gurney so that it knocked back Sora, Biyomon, and Bukamon. He took the antiseptic and managed to dump some of it on to her arm before Matt tried to rush him. Tamer sidestepped the boy before sticking the needle into Kari's shoulder and plunging the fluid deep into her before anyone could stop him. Sora and Nyaromon were about to hit him when Kari sat up. Her eyes were wide in pain and she screamed, "AH!"

"What did you do?" Sora had never felt this angry. She pushed the boy as hard as she could against the wall and pinned him there. Nyaromon leapt into the air and tackled the arm holding the needle, hitting just hard enough that his grip weakened and it fell to the floor with a crack. The little cat hissed, "What did you do to Kari?"

"Fixed her!" Tamer said with a big smile. Sora traced his line of sight to Kari to see she'd fallen back onto the gurney. Joe put a hand to her head and inspected the injection site. Seeing her like this, Nyaromon bore her fangs, "Tamer! I swear if you did something to her, we'll-"

"Her temperature is going down," Joe said, "She's still breathing. Pulse is there."

"I told you, I fixed her," Tamer grunted, "Now can you let me go? You guys look like you've seen a ghost."

Sora loosened her hold and Tamer massaged his arms, "Ow. You're surprisingly strong for a kid."

She wasn't sure how to take that and resolved to not respond. She was too upset at him to do anything else. Kari stirred and opened her eyes with a tired yawn, "What happened? Why does my arm hurt?"

"It's nothing," Tamer said, "Get some sleep. You'll need to rest."

She looked at her brother carefully, inspecting him closely for some sign of insincerity before nodding and falling back asleep. Joe kept his hand firmly on her head and asked, "What did you do to her?"

"Jump started her immune system. She'll need some rest while her body clears out whatever is making her sick," Tamer said sorely, "She'll also wake up with a hell of an appetite later. Forget about her, are you guys okay?"

"We're fine," Bukamon groaned, "Did you have to be so rough?"

"You were trying to jump me!" was his response, "Did you think I wasn't going to be?"

"She'll be alright, won't she? There's not going to be any weird reactions?" Joe asked. Tamer brushed a hand through her hair, "No idea. We'll find out if something does happen to her. Come on, let's get her into one of the rooms. Then we can go find something to snack on."

* * *

Mimi continued leading the way with the others close behind her. The anachronistic buildings made her head spin but no worse than the giant marble temple they encountered at the end of the street. The building was old and in ruins, but there were still hints of its grand splendor in what remained of its facade. The walls and columns were engraved with illustrations of various hooded figures and digimon in such a way that it seemed like a story was being told. As with all the other buildings they encountered before, there were hieroglyphs written into the walls. Izzy ran up excitedly, "No way! It's the Parthenon! But what's it doing all the way out here?"

"What's a parthenon?" Tentomon inquired. Izzy was about to being his explanation but Mimi stopped him before he had the chance, "Who cares? Or did you forget why we're here?"

"Mimi, even you have to realize that's just not goi-" Izzy stopped when he saw the look Mimi was giving him. He should have realized that this was not a line of discussion for her, "I'll shut up."

"By the...I never thought I'd see it with my own eyes," Wizardmon said with awe as he walked towards it, almost ready to sink to his knees with awe, "It's so beautiful. To think that I could have the chance."

"What are you talking about?" Tanemon asked the transfixed wizard. He pointed at it excitedly and trembled with anticipation, ready to forget everything and run in, "That's it! That's the place where they kept it! All the prophecies, the knowledge, the philosophies, discoveries! This is it! The Athenaeum!"

"Really!?" Izzy's face lit up, "What's with that name?"

A bell rang somewhere in the distance and suddenly hundreds of ghostly figures in white robes appeared, going about their business hurriedly. Some were in deep discussion while others were buried with books or scrolls. There were what looked like kids among them, but their robes didn't have the same gray trim as the adults. The trim on their robes were all assortment of colors with no clear reason to why. Some were blue, others pink, red, purple, lavender, gold, orange, gray, and green. Notably, there were more purple and gray robed kids here than there were of any other color. At the entrance to the building stood guards in black clothes beneath thick white armor and helmets. Each helmet had a face shield that came down to conceal the guard's face with a visor that made them appear intimidating and menacing. However, they kept their face shields up and smiled proudly at everyone going in and out of the building. The group looked around at all the passing phantasms and Mimi shook, "Not this again! What's going on?"

"I don't know but I don't like it. We should get out of here right away," Wizardmon said, "Come on, let's hurry inside."

"I am not going in there! We still have to find Piximon!" Mimi said. She seemed adamant about not going until Izzy took hold of her hand and started pulling her inside. She would've resisted, except Wizardmon and Tentomon began pushing her along too. They got all the way to the door when silence befell them. As suddenly as the ghostly figures in white appeared, they vanished. The inside of the Athenaeum was dim but what little light could trickle through the paned glass on the ceiling showed an expanse of library shelves as high as the ceiling and going as far as the eye could see into the darkened interior. They were stacked with all assortment of books, scrolls, computers, hard drives, memory cards, and more. Izzy and Wizardmon trembled with excitement, and it was obvious the only reason they hadn't run off was because they were pushing Mimi along.

"Behold, the greatest supply of information known to exist in the Digital World," Wizardmon proclaimed. Tanemon took a look at Izzy and said, "Geez, I'm not sure which has you more excited. Holding Mimi's hand or this library."

"I'm just admiring..." Izzy tried to answer and was unable to finish as he seemed to realize that he was holding Mimi's hand. They continued further in, accompanied only by the sound of their own footsteps through the massive building. Wizardmon openly marveled at every shelf, able to understand the titles and reading aloud the names of evert article, "War of the Titans, The Magical Teacher Onion, Philosophies of Will of Fire, so many books, so little time!"

After a while of listening to him, Mimi grew uncomfortable with Izzy's hand, "You can let go now Izzy."

"Oh, right," Izzy hastily released her and averted his eyes to avoid making eye contact, "Sorry."

"Don't be," she mumbled, "Can we head back? We still have to find-"

"Gatling Attack!"

A barrage of bullets riddled the ground before them, stopping them in their tracks. They were terrified at first until Izzy noted, "Did that voice sound familiar to anyone?"

"It did! Andromon! Is that you?" Tanemon asked into the darkness. Ahead of them, they could see a single red light and the sound of mechanical stomping. As it drew closer, a vaguely humanoid shape became clear in the darkness and a mechanical voice droned on, "Subjects identified. Digidestined and digimon. Hostile detected! Preparing to engage Wizardmon!"

"Stop wait! He's on our side!" Tentomon said, flying between the two of them. There was another voice with Andromon, "It sure is dark. Can we please have a light in here?"

Something buzzed in the darkness and a single light came from Andromon's shoulder. It illuminated an Agumon standing next to it, "No way! It's you guys! What are you doing here?"

"Us? What are you doing here?" Mimi almost accused it, "Shouldn't you be with Tamer and the others? Why are you with Andromon?"

"Why would I be with the Digimon Tamer?" Agumon asked. Izzy was the first to figure it out, "Koromon are in the Agumon line of digivolution. This is just like when Koromon showed up after we beat Myotismon. This isn't the Agumon we know! It's a Koromon from Koromon Village. Or was. You're an Agumon now then?"

"That's right! I put on some muscle after we started fighting the Dark Masters!" Agumon said proudly.

"That must be some fight. We were only gone for two days!" Mimi pointed out in astonishment. Agumon raised an eyebrow, "Two days? Try a hundred and eight years."

"But we left yesterday!" Tentomon said, "There's no way we were gone that long!"

"Yeah, I think we'd both have aged considerably if we were gone that long," Izzy remarked. Koromon sighed, "There's a lot we have to catch you up on. Come with us! We can explain while we get back to the others."

"What others? Who else is there?" Wizardmon asked curiously.

"Leomon's Freedom Fighters!" Agumon said proudly.

* * *

They wheeled Kari into a room on the second floor. Tamer was silent the entire time, content to hold Kari's hand while she rested. Agumon grew bored from waiting around and went off to get some food from the cafeteria. Biyomon, Tsunomon and Matt went with them to make sure they had a bigger haul. If that wasn't possible then Matt could fix something up. Nyaromon stayed with Kari but on the opposite side of Tamer, curling up beside her partner. The two would occasionally shoot glances at each other but neither spoke a word.

With each glance, Nyaromon noticed an uncharacteristic concern in Tamer's eyes that seemed out of place. It bugged her because she'd never seen those eyes look so uneasy - at least, not when she wasn't trying to kill him, "Worried for your sister?"

"I just don't want anyone else to get hurt," he replied quietly. Nyaromon's eyes moved to Sora and the apprehension was clear on her little face, "Good job with that so far."

Tamer didn't have a smart remark, instead waiting silently beside Kari. This took both of them off guard and Nyaromon asked, "What, do you suddenly care?"

"You think I don't?" Tamer said, his tone suddenly growing colder. Nyaromon rolled her eyes at him, "You're the one who's always laughing in the face of the bad guy."

"Not to mention that you never really act like you're taking things seriously," Bukamon added.

"I'm making the best of a bad situation," Tamer admitted quietly, his voice hoarse and grave, "Right now, that just seems really hard to do. All those people who died in the Real World, all the things that should have happened but didn't, all the things that should happen but won't. I feel that. All of that. This isn't like the other headaches. It's worse. My head pounds, my stomach feels like it's trying to crawl out my mouth, it hurts to breathe, my skin is crawling, and every part of me wants to drop to the floor. But I can't afford to do that. I still have to give a hundred percent, up until the very end."

"Wow," Nyaromon's voice carried surprise, "Who knew you had feelings."

"I am just full of surprises," Tamer's voice broke a little, "It shouldn't surprise you guys but Agumon and I have seen a lot of death in our lives - we've lost a lot. Friends…loved ones. When Myotismon was about to kill Kari, and I jumped in the way…I'm not entirely sure what I felt, but I knew it was right. I knew it was my role to look after her. I worried when she collapsed. She's too important in all of this. Too important to me. Don't take it the wrong way, I doubt that we are related. But I don't want to see her die."

He paused again, staring quietly at Kari before apologizing, "I'm sorry for how I acted. I shouldn't have kicked you guys around…but I had to do something, anything to help Kari. You guys were trying to stop me and…I'm sorry."

"So what was that you put in her anyway? Is there more of it?" Joe asked the boy to try and change the subject. He didn't respond, instead falling quiet while he held Kari's hand. Since that line of conversation wasn't going anywhere, Sora tried a different method, "Have you remembered anything else?"

"Like what?"

"About the past," Sora asked, "You remembered Kari was your sister, but did you remember anything else? Like your parents...or me?"

"I'm still not convinced it was a memory," Tamer replied, "I can still see it, plain as day in my head. But it doesn't add up. When would it have happened? Why is it so vivid? There are just too many things in that memory that don't make sense. I'm more convinced my mind made it up in the heat of the moment."

"Will you at least let the rest of us call you Tai?" Sora asked. Tamer looked at her pleadingly, begging her not to ask him that question. But he relented anyway, "Fine. Just...don't get used to it."

"Thanks Tai," she replied. He cringed slightly, which was good as the others finally returned with arms full of chips and wrapped sandwiches. TK appeared with his mouth smothered in ice cream and said with glee, "You won't believe it! There's a machine there that just makes food! I ate a sundae the size of my head!"

"I hope you guys don't mind but we just made sandwiches and chips," Agumon said quietly as he started passing things out. Nyaromon asked hungrily, "Did you get me some milk or fish?"

"Right here," Matt unwrapped two filets of fatty tuna for the little kitty who purred jovially at the sight, "Yay!"

"Dig in guys," Agumon said, "Who knows when we'll get to eat like this again."

As he said those words, they heard a soft rumble come from the window behind them. They all looked outside to see swarms of digimon in the sky. Orange and blue serpents with mechanical claws and wings soared over the city. On the street level, they could see a group of twenty Mekanorimon go marching past, accompanied by floating gears with eyes and tanks with faces. On seeing this, Tamer and Agumon pushed everyone onto the floor, "Get down."

"What's going on?" Bukamon yelped, "What was that for?"

"Be quiet!" Tamer hissed at the little brown seal.

"Is that a parade outside?" TK asked childishly, taking a chance to peak up at the display below. Agumon nodded his head and answered, "A military parade. That's Machinedramon's personal army out there!"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Will the digidestined survive the arrival of Machinedramon's army? What of Leomon's Freedom Fighters? Will Kari recover? Find this out in the next chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure, due out in two weeks on September 16th at 5PM CST. Why two weeks? Because next week, I'll be posting the first two chapters of Burnt Leaf Declassified titled 'Hello Mister Prime Minister' and 'Monsters From Another World'. That's September 9th at 5 PM CST. If you loved it, let me know in the review section. I usually respond in a day or two, unless it's a guest review. Then I'll reply in the next chapter's author's notes. I also welcome constructive criticism and speculation on the next chapter of the story! Now for previews for the next chapter of both The Tamer and Burnt Leaf Declassified!

 **The Tamer:**

The lead digimon shouted, "ALL UNITS! MEGADRAMON! GIGADRAMON! ATTACK! DARK SIDE ATTACK!"

"Hang on WarGreymon!" Tamer roared

"Okay, and the part about finding Izzy and Mimi?" Joe asked them

"How can you say that!? Of course he's alive! He's over there waiting for us to rescue him! How do we get there? Back to Myotismon's Castle?" Mimi shouted

Machinedramon bared down on them with his two large cannons, "GIGA CANNON!"

 **Burnt Leaf Declassified:**

Makoto added, "I hate to be the skeptical one, but are we really suspecting vampires here?"

Shizu mulled over a few ideas in his head and asked "Do you think it was The Trickster? I mean, we have readings for a transition between worlds."

"You can make copies of yourself and change your outward appearance at will. Having us around seems like a waste of our time and yours. So why are we doing this?"

"I'll level with you - what we're seeing right now. It's unprecedented. Two worlds are colliding with each other in a way that has never happened. This is the kind of thing Burnt Leaf was meant to handle."

Kino commented, "Vampires, dinosaurs, now ghosts. What's next? Werewolves? Angels? How about pixies?"

* * *

 **Guest Review Responses**

 **Krusa1:** Thanks very much for taking the time to read and review. This isn't an issue of not meeting the right people. This is an issue of not planning on doing it - that is, I have no intention of doing it. To put this into context, it's like trying to tell a train conductor to divert the train onto the highway because that'd be more fun for the riders. The analogy doesn't really work, but you sort of get what I mean. Yes, there is fan art but none of it was commissioned. It was done as a labor of love, and I appreciate the talent the artists put towards making it because it tells me just how much they care for this story. I don't want to undermine their enjoyment by asking either of them to begin converting this story into a doujinshi or a webcomic. If they choose to do so, that's their choice. I'd rather they read and enjoy the story at their leisure. If that occasionally leads to them making fan art, then all the merrier. Again, I appreciate your enthusiasm for the story but making a doujinshi isn't in the cards.


	38. SkullGreymon

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hey everyone! Thanks for coming back for another chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews and favorited the story. And another special thanks to Ace Spiritwell for doing the coverart for this story. Guess what? I figured out how to do the links for the fan art to this story. You can find it on my profile, you just need to remove the spaces and parenthesis. I want to say something special about this chapter. I've been very careful with writing the narrative and interactions of this story. Most importantly, some of you will notice that there's one perspective I've never told the story from. Until this chapter - this is the first chapter where we see the world through Tamer's eyes. I'm really excited to show you guys this chapter so let's get it started.

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 38: SkullGreymon**

Izzy, Mimi, Tentomon, Tanemon, and Wizardmon followed the Agumon through the darkened Athenaeum and into a far corner wall. It was broken by debris from another building to reveal a tunnel that connected the two. Along the way, Agumon caught them up to speed on everything they'd missed, "Things went bad after you left. Myotismon and his lackeys mostly disappeared. There were a few still running around but they never really did anything too problematic. But we waited and prepared like Tamer asked us to. Andromon went out to find digimon who were willing to join us or work with us when the time came. Digimon like Whamon, Leomon, Piximon, Vegiemon and Digitamamon, Cockatrimon and his Numemon crew, and more like them."

"You are all working together then?" Wizardmon asked curiously. Agumon shook his head, "We were for a while. The Dark Masters showed up like Tamer told us they would, so we fought back to protect the Digital World. It was a disaster, one defeat after another. Eventually, some digimon wanted to try changing plans to keep the Dark Masters from predicting our moves. But everyone had their own ideas and no one could agree on how to fight back. It got so bad, that digimon started to distrust each other."

"You don't actually think someone would, do you?" Tanemon asked them honestly. Andromon answered, "It is difficult to say without further information. Simulations with insufficient data tend to produce skewed and limited results. More data is required to determine a true cause. As a result, the Dark Masters achieved victory and victory. They modified the Digital World to their will and recreated it as Spiral Mountain - a spiral divided into four sections. One domain for each of the Masters."

"But you all fought together! How could you think anyone could betray you?" Izzy asked in disbelief. Mimi scoffed, "Yeah, how?"

Andromon looked back at her, "I extend my apologies if something hurt-"

Izzy waved at Andromon to stop where he was before he said anything else. Andromon looked at him quizzically and shrugged. They emerged in the next building to find a group of other Agumon waiting around anxiously. The Agumon were startled by their sudden appearance until they recognized them, "It's you guys!"

"You're okay!"

"We're saved!"

"This is surreal," Izzy thought aloud at the sight of all the Agumon gathered around them, bombarding them with questions about where they'd been and what they'd been up to. Unfortunately, Mimi was not in any mood for this, "Shut up! How do we get back to Myotismon's Castle? We have to go rescue Piximon!"

"Piximon!?" they said in surprise.

"He's been captured?"

"We have to rescue him!"

"But the Dark Masters have him! Is he even still alive?"

"How can you say that!? Of course he's alive! He's over there waiting for us to rescue him! How do we get there? Back to Myotismon's Castle?" Mimi shouted at the little digimon who cowed under her voice. Too frightened, the Agumon were unable to answer her until Leomon arrived through the front entrance, "At this point, he's probably gone. Going there would be a suicide mission. As much as we're trying to defeat the Dark Masters, we can't afford to undertake such a risky enterprise."

"Leomon!" everyone but Mimi said excitedly. He was more tired from when they last saw him, but he still carried himself as a proud warrior. A smile drew itself on his lips when he saw the new arrivals and he greeted them with a nod. Over his shoulder was a knapsack which he set on the ground for the other digimon to unfurl. They found cooked meat, slices of bread, and freshly picked berries. Tanemon and Tentomon joined the Agumon in digging into the food while Leomon explained to them, "We have to move again. Machinedramon's army is in the city."

"They haven't found us, have they?" one of the Agumon said through a mouthful of meat. Leomon shook his head, "I doubt it. If I had to guess, they're here looking for them."

He pointed at Izzy, Mimi, Wizardmon, Tentomon, and Tanemon, "They don't know we're here but I don't want to risk them accidentally finding us. Eat up while you can because we'll be leaving in ten minutes. Which brings me to you."

He rounded on the two digidestined and Wizardmon, "You're here, which means you're back. That can only mean one thing. The Digimon Tamer and Agumon are back as well. Where are they?"

"I don't know and I don't care," Mimi answered, "We're going back to rescue Piximon from the Dark Masters, no matter what it takes! How do we get there?"

Leomon remained defiant of this and walked straight towards Mimi to block her path. She was dwarfed before his large size but she continued to glare at him, "You won't scare me from going Leomon."

"You're turning out just like him," Leomon commented worriedly, "I can already see it. The fever, the rage. It takes good people and turns them into something else. Something bad."

"Yeah, how would you know that?" Mimi leered back at him. Leomon became more somber and defeated, "You've been around Tamer a while, haven't you? I'm sure you've seen it too sometimes: the way he's called a monster or a murderer. You've seen the murderous look in his eyes when he's mad. The brutality he reveals when he fights his enemies. How truly merciless he can be. It shows in the way Agumon fights too."

"I'm not like the Digimon Tamer," Mimi said between grit teeth. Leomon's frown didn't move and he replied, "I really hope you're right."

"Then get out of my way!"

Leomon stood his ground and refused to get out Mimi's path. Mimi remained angry, "Let me go!"

He shook his head, "No, I can't let you. The Dark Masters don't take prisoners. And if they do, it's only to lure in more digimon to kill. I don't know what's come over you but your bravery will lead to your own death if you're not careful. More than likely, Piximon is already dead."

"Don't say that!" Mimi shouted. As she said those words, the entire building shook violently. Leomon frowned, "It looks like they've already started the attack. We should go find Agumon and the Digimon Tamer. No one knows this city better than they do. We'll need their help to get out of the city."

"I'm not going back! Not without Piximon!" Mimi snapped. It was here that Tanemon finally had enough and shouted at the girl in pink.

"Mimi! We have to go back! I've been trying to put up with this and support you but now you're being stupid! Can't you see that everyone is only worried and wants to do what's best to help you? Well how can they do that if you keep acting like this? And let's say you and I do manage to get to the Dark Masters? Then what? I said it myself, I don't have much punch! Do you honestly think we can take them on by ourselves!?"

The sudden outburst took them all by surprise. It was laughable to see Mimi cowed by her little plant partner when the larger lion digimon could barely intimidate her. Even so, it was enough to discourage Mimi from her run towards the castle, "Okay. Fine, we'll go look for him. Where do we start though?"

"I think Izzy has the answer to that," Wizardmon commented. Put on the spot, Izzy sheepishly held out his digivice and said, "Tamer asked me to keep it on this screen so that we could find each other later. I'm sorry for not telling you."

Mimi rolled her eyes in disapproval but didn't say a thing about it, instead motioning for Izzy to lead the way back to the others. Izzy tensed up as he guided them, feeling Mimi's intense eyes on him the whole way back.

* * *

Agumon poked his head up to examine the street and sighed, "Yeah, we need to get out of here. They're blowing up the city."

"What!?" everyone said together, forcing Tamer to shush them, "It's a standard tactic for Machinedramon. Destroy, destroy, destroy. He's hoping that if he destroys the city, then we'll get caught up in the destruction. We'll have to get out."

"What about Mimi and Tanemon? Or Izzy? Tentomon and Wizardmon?" Bukamon asked. Tamer held up his digivice, "No problem. We just track them down with the digivice. We'll need to carry Kari. She won't be in any shape to walk."

Sora volunteered right away, "I can take care of that but how are we supposed to make our way past that army? They're everywhere! We'll be in serious trouble out there!"

Tamer frowned and looked back out the window, "Yeah, about that. I have an idea but you guys won't like it. We're not going to outrun them because they're all over the city, and we're not going to have any luck fighting them head on. We'll have to distract their attention somewhere else."

"Does anyone else feel like all our plans basically boil down to distractions and running away?" Bukamon asked aloud. Matt folded his arms, "Yeah, you two did the same thing at the period and at the coliseum."

"Then you'll like how we switch things up for this plan Matt. You, Tsunomon, Agumon and I will distract them together," he said quietly, "The rest of you will get out through the back of the hospital. Don't fly or you'll get their attention. Use the streets and the back alleys to lie low. Just head in Mimi and Izzy's direction."

Matt stared at him in disbelief, "Okay, I have a couple of problems with this plan. First, I thought you said fighting was a bad idea so _WHY_ are we doing that? And why us? Wouldn't it make more sense for all of us to go!? Second, how are they going to find Izzy and Mimi? We don't know where they went!"

"Because we're the only ones who's partners can go Mega," Tamer hissed at him, "We'll last longer if we go by ourselves. That way we're not babysitting the others while we fight."

"Okay, and the part about finding Izzy and Mimi?" Joe asked them. Tamer pressed a button on his digivice, "It's Detect Mode. Option Two!"

The others followed suit and their digivices showed eight red dots - six together and two elsewhere in the city. TK gasped excitedly, "Hey! It's us!"

"And those must be Izzy and Mimi!" Patamon said anxiously. Tamer patted them, "You guys go get them. The four of us will hold them off as long as we can."

"Okay, we'll go find them," Sora said. She crawled over to Kari's bed and rolled her off the bed into her arms. Kari curled up but wrapped her arms around Sora's neck like in a hug. Nyaromon bounced along side her with Yokomon in tow, "We'll be right here with you guys."

"Let's go guys," Bukamon said. They made their way to the first floor and went their separate ways. Tamer, Matt, Agumon, and Tsunomon went straight to the front while the others headed for the back. TK looked back at his older brother, "Good luck Matt."

"We'll see you soon!" Tsunomon said back while gave him a thumb up. Then the four charged straight out the front door and onto the street to face Machinedramon's army. The Mekanorimon stopped in their tracks and faced them, "Targets acquired! Engaging!"

"Engage this!" Tamer ran ahead of the rest of the group and slid under one of the Mekanorimon's legs. The other Mekanorimon tracked his movement and started fired their lasers along his path until it merged at the one Mekanorimon he slid under. It screamed before exploding to data. From within, he shouted, "Now guys!"

"Let's get them Tsunomon!" Matt shouted.

"Tsunomon! Digivolve to! Gabumon!"

"Agumon! Warp Digivolve to! WarGreymon!"

"Gabumon! Warp Digivolve to! MetalGarurumon!"

MetalGarurumon lowered down so that Matt could climb on, and the two Megas took off into the air. From above, they could see Tamer running through the ranks of the Mekanorimon with his digivice out. He disoriented them with the light of his digivice even though they were still shooting, which resulted in them misfiring into each other. Sora, Biyomon, TK, Joe, Patamon, Bukamon and Nyaromon were already sneaking out the back of the hospital and heading to safety while more of Machinedramon's digimon came towards the two Megas.

The flying serpents turned in the air to meet them while the Guardromon below started firing upwards. MetalGarurumon begun the attack by firing a swarm of missiles into the oncoming digimon, "ICE WOLF CLAW!"

The serpentine digimon crumbled before the number of explosions, but more appeared through the smoke and they continued their charged. WarGreymon took his turn to meet them in combat, "GREAT TORNADO!"

He spun in place and set the air around him ablaze before charging right through the center of their formation in a frenzy of fire. They tried to move out of his path, but were caught by the sudden increase in air temperature before getting incinerated in the flames. Still, the serpentine dragon digimon remained unperturbed and began their counterattack. The lead digimon shouted, "ALL UNITS! MEGADRAMON! GIGADRAMON! ATTACK! DARK SIDE ATTACK!"

"GENOCIDE GEAR!"

Each of the assembled serpents fired hundreds of missiles into the air that easily dwarfed the number that MetalGarurumon could make. Matt saw the blanketed projectiles and whimpered, "Oh crap. MetalGarurumon!"

"Hang on Matt!" MetalGarurumon dove for the ground, followed by WarGreymon as the missiles closed in. Matt screamed and his ears popped with the sudden drop in altitude. They were trying to take advantage of the buildings for cover, which thankfully absorbed most of the impact that was dealt but this was not a strategy they could rely on forever. Especially since flying this low meant they were easy targets for the many Guardromon and Mekanorimon shooting up at them. WarGreymon flew just ahead of MetalGarurumon, using his cestus to punch through any digimon in front of him and clearing a path. While he did this, Tamer suddenly appeared from the crowd and took a hold of WarGreymon's leg as he flew past. In an awkward display, he climbed on to WarGreymon's back, "I was hoping we'd never have to do this again."

"I wish we had the same bomb we had from last time," WarGreymon growled, "How long should we keep this up for?"

"As long as possible!" Tamer shouted over the roar of the shooting and explosions. A few of the missiles followed them down that low, but ended up hitting the street and destroying Mekanorimon and Guardromon in the cross fire. The two megas ascended once they were clear to take in their situation. A good portion of the block was reduced to rubble and debris, intermixed with clouds of data and the survivors of Machinedramon's army. They didn't let up their attack though, and continued firing into the air at them.

"You did have a plan for how we get out of this afterwards, right?" Matt asked the boy. Tamer's stumped expression shouldn't have been a surprise, and he sighed, "Tell me you're at least thinking about it!"

"We'll wing it," Tamer replied. Matt felt all the confidence drain out of him at the sound of those words.

* * *

Bukamon and Biyomon led the way out of the hospital, in case any of Machinedramon's soldiers appeared to attack them. The fighting was worse than anything they heard during Myotismon's invasion. The ground shook and explosions could be heard behind them. Occasionally, they would see WarGreymon or MetalGarurumon zoom by overhead while they were pursued by Machinedramon's digimon. It was a miracle that they weren't noticed but they were careful to move quickly from alley to alley and always ran across streets.

They'd traveled four blocks safely, avoiding the Mekanorimon and Guardromon because they were too preoccupied shooting into the sky. The fifth block was where their luck ran out, they encountered a group of floating gears with eyes set up at a tent with radios and chattering excitedly. Upon seeing them, the digimon shouted, "We have digidestined at the comms center! Digidestined at comms!"

As soon as this was said, the street rumbled and the digimon scattered away from their radios. Sora held Kari tight and said, "Guys! Get ready for anything!"

"Right!" Joe and TK said together. The three of them pointed out their digivices to let their partners digivolve up to their champion level forms.

"Bukamon! Digivolve to! Gomamon!"

"Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

"Patamon! Digivolve to! Angemon!"

"Gomamon! Digivolve to! Ikakumon!"

Before the three champions could do anything about the fleeing gears, a nearby building crumbled to reveal the mechanical dinosaur, Machinedramon. It buzzed with electricity when it turned to face them and barked out orders to the Mekanorimon and digimon looking like tanks with faces appearing beside him. It growled out its orders, "Targets acquired! Digidestined in sight! All units engage!"

"Meteor Wing!"

"Hand of Fate!"

"Harpoon Torpedo!"

"Run!" Nyaromon called out to the digidestined while the three champions fought off Machinedramon's army. As much as she wished she could help, the truth was that she was practically helpless in this state without Kari to help her digivolve. So they ran as fast and as far as their feet could carry them only to find more Mekanorimon blocking their exit. The Mekanorimon prepared their weapons in case they tried to flee and instructed them, "Stop where you are. You will face Master Machinedramon!"

Mechanical stomps behind them assured them that the menacing machine dinosaur had no intention of letting them go. Their partners were trying their best to fight him off only for their attacks to do nothing. TK latched on to Sora while she held her grip on Kari. Joe stood in front of the three of them with his arms spread out as if to protect them but his shaking legs gave away his own fear.

Machinedramon bared down on them with his two large cannons, "GIGA CANNON!"

They saw a bright flash of light.

* * *

The two megas circled around in the air so that they make another run at Machinedramon's army. Matt scanned the streets below but the others were nowhere in sight, "Do you think the others are okay?"

Tamer looked down at his digivice and answered, "Probably. It looks like they're on the right path."

As he said those words, a building collapsed in the direction the others had gone and they saw Machinedramon emerge from its ruins. Accompanying the machine were more of his army and he gave them his commands, "Targets acquired. Digidestined in sight! All units engage!"

"That's where TK and the others are!" Matt roared, "MetalGarurumon!"

"I'm on it!" MetalGarurumon turned in the air towards Machinedramon, followed by Tamer and WarGreymon. The others wouldn't last for long without their help so they hurried faster towards them.

It wasn't enough. Machinedramon aimed his massive cannons at the ground and fired, "Giga Cannon!"

There was a bright flash of light and a deafening roar as a whole city block turned to rubble. They earned Machinedramon's attention once they were close enough to see hole Machinedramon had just made in the middle of the street. Matt scanned the ground for someone.

Any one. Matt's heart sank when he couldn't see anybody and the realization brought tears to his eyes. No Sora, Kari, Biyomon, Bukamon, Joe, Nyaromon, Patamon, nor TK. There was nothing left in that smouldering hole.

One of the Mekanorimon said aloud, "Good kill, good kill. Eight targets confirmed destroyed."

"Four more, in the sky!" said another pointing up towards them. His misty eyes blurred his vision, and his face flushed with anger as he grieved, "No...no...they can't be...NO! METALGARURUMON!"

"I'm o-" MetalGarurumon was interrupted when WarGreymon shot straight past them towards Machinedramon. The army concentrated their attacks on him so he threw the shield in front of him to deflect the hits. It rattled and shook with each impact, proving it was sturdy as each blow bounced off its impervious exterior.

He shot straight at Machinedramon and tackled him with enough force to throw him into a building, pinning him there. The Mekanorimon and Tankmon turned to shoot at the pair, but were blinded when Tamer shined the digivice in their eyes again. Even so, they fired straight ahead as WarGreymon zipped away. Their hits struck Machinedramon; individually, the attacks would have done nothing but they were more than enough to hurt the mechanical dinosaur together. Machinedramon howled in anger and pulled himself out of the building in time for MetalGarurumon to launch his own attack, "ICE WOLF CLAW!"

The missiles impacted all along the ground and into the Machinedramon, destroying his subordinates but also doing some harm to him. Machinedramon took a moment to steady himself amidst the rubble and said, "The two of them are proving more tenacious. All units are cleared to initiate secondary attack plans. All units, rally at my position. Prepare for combined attack."

"No you don't!" Matt shouted through the tears, "You killed my brother!"

"GIGA MISSILE!"

MetalGarurumon fired a rocket from his torso and it struck Machinedramon in the mouth, silencing it long enough for WarGreymon to sucker punch him from the side, then deliver a roundhouse kick. Machinedramon tracked WarGreymon as he moved along the sky and growled, "Surrender Tamer. It's over. Half of the digidestined are gone now, it's only a matter of time before the other half join them. Give it up. You're the last of the Ancients. Don't become the last of the digid-"

Before he even finished, WarGreymon shot out from the side and upper cut him in the jaw one more time. Tamer roared, "SAY THAT AGAIN!"

"How many more have to die," Machinedramon murmured, "How many more will you lose before you realize this is a lost cause. How many Ancients did it take? How many digidestined?"

WarGreymon charged in again but Machinedramon was ready that time. He positioned his cannon to fire a blast of pure energy straight at WarGreymon and Tamer, "GIGA CANNON!"

WarGreymon reacted quickly, throwing his shield in front of him and trying to take as much of the hit as he could, "Tamer! Look out!"

"Hang on WarGreymon!" Tamer roared. It was hard to see from so high up, but Matt could hear the two screaming in pain. When the blast subsided, they could see Tamer falling to the ground with Agumon held tight in his arms. Both were bruised and burned, but Tamer still found enough energy to flip in the air so that he could fall into a roll. MetalGarurumon tried to catch them but couldn't get close with Machinedramon swiping away at them. The two landed with a crunch and Tamer shouted an oomph. Matt called out to them, "Guys! Guys! Are you okay!?"

He couldn't look too long though. Before he knew it, the Gigadramon and Megadramon appeared to continue their pursuit of the metal wolf in the air

* * *

Tamer lay on the ground, looking at his partner laying unconscious beside him. He couldn't feel anything - not his headache, not the pain from the fall, not the emotions he should have been feeling when the others were killed, or anger from seeing Agumon hurt. He just felt…nothing.

He just wanted everything to stop. He wanted it to be over. He wanted to wake up and see that this was all a dream - that everything was alright. But he knew that wasn't the case. It had been a long time since he last slept.

It wasn't that he hated sleep. Closing his eyes was too painful, because then he could hear the voices. The screams of terror, the sounds of thunder, the lamentations. The voices of friends begging him to stop, to show mercy, to save them. He could see the violence, the destruction from a time he wanted to forget.

Where was the point anymore? Machinedramon was right - how long would he have to do this? Until he gave up? Until the other digidestined were dead? Until all of reality was reduced to nothing in this long fought war? His hand dug into the dirt as he thought on everything he'd lost and likely would lose - the Ancients, his friends, the digidestined, their digimon, their parents. He dwelled on that idea longer than he should have.

He knew that Myotismon was going to invade the Real World and he could have prevented it; he could have spared all those lives. But he saw what drastic changes to destiny could do. The worlds that vanished out of existence, the people who ceased to be, the ones who were never supposed to be, and the nightmares that this invited. Would that have been worth enduring to save Mimi's mother? To save all those other lives? Was what was happening now the better of the two options?

What would Agumon say to him now? He needed his partner more than anything - to motivate him, to give him the strength he needed to get up. What about Kari? She was gone. Was that his fault? He could have done more to save her, been there to protect her instead of sending her off with the others. He thought of Sora, TK, Joe, Bukamon, Biyomon, and Nyaromon. Would they have been better off to not trust his plan? He sent them off on their own because he thought they would be safer away from the mess of the fighting. Now they were gone. What would he tell their parents? What should he tell them?

If Mimi were here, she'd definitely take this chance to prove that she'd been right all along - that her anger and distrust of him was well placed. It was the same thing the Dark Masters would do - they would be mocking him. Pronouncing his failures - all the lives he'd failed to save to preserve a future that seemed further and further away, and less worth the price that had to be paid.

Dwelling on these thoughts gave him pause and sparked a familiar emotion inside him. It spread through him like fire and gave him the strength to push himself on to his knees. In that moment, he realized he was still holding his digivice in his hand and that it was shaking violently in his hands - perhaps from the damage during the fall but more likely it was from the intense feeling that was driving him. Then he remembered what was in his pocket - an item he'd saved for a time when it was absolutely necessary. He only had the one and it was only good for one use. Was this the right time?

Yes, this was the right time to use it. This was the kind of situation he'd saved it for. He checked to make sure it was still in his pocket and felt the smile form. Mekanorimon, Guardromon, and Tankmon began surrounding the two of them. Agumon still lay on the ground beside him, unconscious and unable to move. Machinedramon stomped towards the two and his army parted out of his way to let the two come face to face. He pushed himself up to his knees so that he could look the Dark Master square in the eye and patted the device in his pocket.

"You should have surrendered Tamer," Machinedramon said, "It's over. Just do one more thing before we end this. Lie there and take it."

Tamer's eyes narrowed when Machinedramon said those words and the emotion burned stronger than ever. His digivice shook more violently in his hand as the cannon on his back centered on him, "Prepare to die. GIGA CANN-"

Black tendrils came out of the digivice and pierced Agumon before Machinedramon could finish. It consumed him with a purple light that grew into a tar like mist. A guttural growl somewhere inside the mist echoed out and scared some of Machinedramon's army into taking a step back. Then a skeletal arm appeared from the mist. It took hold of Machinedramon's head and pushed it back so that the mega level digimon's neck was stretched as far back as it could. A second skeletal arm came out and grabbed one of the cannons on Machinedramon's back. With a sudden powerful pull, the two arms moved in opposite directions to remove the cannon from Machinedramon's back - exposing wires, electronics, and moving gears.

Machinedramon screamed in pain, "WHAT IS THAT?"

"My hate for you," Tamer answered.

The mist cleared to show a skeletal figure standing before it at equal height. In the center of its exposed rib cage was a red organ that writhed rhythmically like a heart. On its back was another grotesque organ, a tumorous mass that had a mouth and fins connected to six bony structures growing from its back. The skull had a single protruding horn on its head and its jaw opened wider than seemed possible to show a single black mass deep inside. Specks of light could be seen within the cavernous holes it had for eyes and they helped it stare right back at Machinedramon. Although Machinedramon's expression couldn't change, it was obvious from how it was moving that it wanted to run away. But the creature that was once Agumon still had a hold of his head. Its mechanical voice droned out with static distortions, "SHo-oT-oot iT-t-T!"

The digimon on the ground and in the air ignored MetalGarurumon to concentrate their fire on the skeletal creature. It shrugged off all of their attacks and used the cannon in its hands as a club to swat the flying digimon out of the air. They crumpled under its weight and were flattened like pancakes on the ground. It followed up its attack by sweeping the ground around it, crushing the digimon too slow to get out of its path and turning them to data. Finally, it used the cannon and started mercilessly beating Machinedramon with its own weapon.

Machinedramon tried to fight back and managed to knock the cannon out of the skeletal creature's hand. This only freed it to do something more brutal. Still holding Machinedramon's head, it shoved the other hand into its mouth and pried it open. Machinedramon started screaming and shouting for his soldiers to help, but they were too terrified to move. Left to the creature's mercy, Machinedramon tried to pull back only to be tackled into a nearby building. He was left whimpering quietly while the skeletal digimon separated his jaw from his head with a sickening crunch.

Sparks, wires, electronics, oil, and more shot out of the now open cavity as Machinedramon collapsed to the floor. His head landed just in front of Tamer, staring at him with a fiery gaze that hadn't been seen since the war. Machinedramon knew it all too well and desperately tried crawling away, only for the skeletal figure to grab him from behind. He tried to beg for mercy but was unable to form the words, not that it would have mattered. Tamer and whatever ungodly abomination was standing there could have ended this fight if they wanted too. But they didn't. They were going to draw this out.

The fiery look became manic and insane as the boy approached the head to pat what should have been its head, "I should be grateful to you Machinedramon. You've awoken something I'd completely forgotten was there - a fire, a passion, a goal. A drive, that thing that makes you want to get up. You've made our lives hell - me and Agumon. But that's okay, because you're going to help us set it right."

In truth, Tamer was relishing this moment. This was everything he'd ever wanted and more. His enemy was on the ground, with a look that begged for a death that wasn't going to come. The surrounding soldiers were too terrified to do anything because they were afraid of what would happen to them. He wanted to savor this moment a little longer, but it needed something. He needed to show Machinedramon what was in his hand.

Tamer reached into his pocket to show him the device, one Machinedramon hadn't seen in a long time, "We're going to fix your mistake. We're going to save the other digidestined - Sora, Biyomon, TK, Patamon, Joe, Bukamon, Nyaromon, and Kari. We're bringing them all back."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Sora, Kari, Joe, TK, Ikakumon, Angemon, Birdramon, and Nyaromon are gone. What is Tamer planning? What will happen to Machinedramon? What about Leomon and his Freedom Fighters? Find out in two weeks on Friday September 30th at 5PM CST. But Leonardo1123581321, why another two weeks? Because with Burnt Leaf Declassified last week and another chapter of The Tamer a week before, we have hit three weeks of updates. We'll be back to our normal updates in two weeks. If you loved it, let me know in the review section. I also welcome constructive criticism and guesses into the next chapter. I make a point of replying in a day or two, unless it's a guest review. Then I'll reply in the next chapter's Author's Notes. Now for lines from the next chapter:

Leomon asked, "It's been a long time. Are you…okay?"

"This has always been me!" Tamer turned on the little digimon.

"Mimi! You're on the side of the guy who's attacking us!" Izzy said

"Protect Master Machinedramon!"

Joe added, "If you don't, we're all going to be killed! Tamer, listen to us!"

* * *

 **Guest Review Responses:**

 **KRUSA1:** Thanks for reading and reviewing again. I'm glad that you're so enthusiastic and that you like this story but, again, I'd prefer it if you used the site's PM system to contact me.


	39. What Have I Done

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hello readers! Welcome to another post of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure! Special thanks to all the readers who read and wrote reviews. Especially those who favorited and followed the story! I want to apologize to those of you who I didn't reply to until later because of issues with the site. A special thanks to reader Ace Spiritwell for producing the cover art for this story. Give their fanfiction a read and their deviantart account a look when you get the chance! Okay, I know I left you guys on a huge cliff hanger last chapter so let's get it started.

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 39: What Have I Done**

Izzy guided their group towards the fighting and explosions. He hurried as fast as he could, knowing they would stand a better chance together than if they were apart. They stopped in their tracks when whole groups of Machinedramon's army started falling from the sky around them before disappearing into data. Thunder roared in the distance and a large skeletal dinosaur appeared over the top of the buildings. Mimi gasped, "What is that!?"

"No idea, I've never seen a digimon like that in Machinedramon's Army," Leomon observed, "But it must be powerful to be able to fight off an entire army by itself."

Izzy sat down and opened his laptop, "Give me a second while I look it up in the database. It says here that the digimon is called…SkullGreymon."

"Skull _Grey_ mon! As in Greymon? As in Agumon and the Digimon Tamer!?" Tanemon asked, "How did he manage that? What's happening over there! Oh, I knew we shouldn't have split up!"

"We should get over there. Quick!" Leomon said.

"Ultimate Level, Virus Attribute, Nightmare Soldier Family, found in the Agumon line of digivolution, predominant in Dark areas of the Digital World," he paused at the last part, unable to digest the fact that they would have to fight an enemy like this. Tentomon asked, "Well…Izzy?"

"It just says run," Izzy said as he turned the laptop to face them, "There's nothing else here. Tamer's people, they couldn't find a way to beat it. They just said to run away if you see one."

"All the more reason to go help them," Wizardmon raised his staff and charged ahead. Leomon followed suit, along with all the Agumon and the digidestined. They rounded the corner to find a group of twenty ghostly figures in white armor kneeling on the street holding swords, what appeared to be guns, and makeshift armor over their robes. Notably, the armor was scuffed and beaten - as if they'd been through severe wear. They each had a glazed looked in their eyes - obviously tired but unable to rest.

It was Wizardmon who noted that every single one had a digivice on a belt around their waste. There were two in the lead conversing with each other quietly while the others watched them attentively. The sight was enough to give their entire group pause as the phantoms seemed to hold no regard for their presence. Finally, the two in the front turned to face the rest and one called out to the others, "Okay, orders just came from command. There's a unit of Vilemon advancing towards a group of engineers trying to get an omnigun back online ten blocks north of here. They need fifteen minutes to fix it. In five, those engineers and the gun won't be there anymore. Let's move out, double time!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" the others said in unison. All twenty stood up and charged ahead in the direction of SkullGreymon, disappearing into the distance. They all blinked quietly and Tentomon asked, "You all saw that right?"

"Yeah, we did," Wizardmon nodded.

"It's getting really old and annoying," Mimi nodded. They didn't dwell on it as SkullGreymon roared again in the distance. They all started moving again.

* * *

Machinedramon tried to move away, but Tamer growled, "No."

SkullGreymon stamped his foot hard on the machine digimon's knees, snapping its legs in half with a sickening crunch. Machinedramon tried to howl in pain but without his lower jaw it sounded only like a gurgling roar. Tamer drew the device in his hand and his smile twisted, "So, let's get started."

"Tamer!" Matt shouted as he and MetalGarurumon landed beside him, "What's going on? What's happened to-"

"Stay out of my way Matt!" Tamer turned on him with a glare so terrifying that even MetalGarurumon flinched at the sight of it. SkullGreymon growled in their direction, solidifying the already terrifying look on Tamer's face as he added, "Do something useful and go find the others. Or whatever, I don't care! Just fuck off!"

Matt looked to Machinedramon and swore he was trying to plead for mercy through his pained groans. Matt realized that the right thing to do would be to help the digimon and try to calm Tamer down, but this was the digimon who'd just killed his brother. He turned away in shame and patted MetalGarurumon, "Let's go."

MetalGarurumon looked at him, "But Matt-"

"GET OUT OF HERE ALREADY!" Tamer stamped his foot and SkullGreymon let out a menacing roar. MetalGarurumon stood his ground, "This isn't right! You know it."

"Do I look like I care?" Tamer's eyes widened angrily as SkullGreymon took a step and leered at them dangerously. MetalGarurumon stepped back cautiously, remembering that this one digimon somehow managed to defeat Machinedramon singled handed. It further displayed its prowess when more of the Megadramon and Gigadramon started shooting at them from above, "There they are!"

"Protect Master Machinedramon!"

"Kill them all!"

MetalGarurumon was about to start fighting back when SkullGreymon stepped int the way to take most of the attacks. It made no reaction to the pain and wasted no time retaliating by shooting the organic rocket on his back. Its voice was deep and high pitched at the same time when it screeched out, "DaRk ShOt!"

The rocket soared into the air with amazing speed right into the center of the formation. The explosion lit up the sky so brightly that everyone had to cover their eyes. When the light subsided, the skies were clear of any of Machinedramon's digimon and SkullGreymon turned to face them again. Tamer's voice was calm but carried all the weight of the threat of SkullGreymon, "I won't ask again."

MetalGarurumon took a few more steps back before flying off to find the others. Machinedramon squirmed under SkullGreymon's weight but Tamer smiled gleefully. He rolled the device in his hands before drawing his digivice in his hands. The two came to life as if they were reacting to the other's presence and they sparked violently against each other, "Now then, let's get started! Digiport Open!"

* * *

Sora held Kari tight as Machinedramon stared down on them with his cannons ready to attack, "Giga Cannon!"

A flash of bright light appeared and Machinedramon froze in place, the attack still charged in the cannons on his back. But that was nowhere near as interesting as the crack of light that was in front of them. It was a weird tear that floated in the air through which they could see Tamer and an injured Machinedramon.

The burning scowl on Tamer's face was enough to give them all pause. Sora had seen that look enough to know that he was doing something terrible on the other side of that tear. Two skeletal arms reached for them through the tear, the bones rattling and crackling as they moved.

They all screamed and shrieked in surprise as they were grabbed one by one. Angemon and Birdramon tried to fight it but were quickly snatched through. Ikakumon tried to throw himself in front of it but was only taken away with the others as well. Finally, they were grabbed - too shocked to think of moving. They were set down on the other side carefully, in what looked like the same city block only reduced to rubble. Machinedramon's army was gone, leaving only Tamer, the broken body of Machinedramon, and some skeletal digimon looming over them. Briefly, Tamer's expression calmed, "Good, you're all safe. But we have to put something back to replace what was there. SkullGreymon…do it."

The skeletal digimon took hold of Machinedramon and it writhed in terror to no avail. SkullGreymon slammed the digimon before the portal and made a show of punching his massive form through one blow at a time. When SkullGreymon stuffed his massive form halfway through Tamer called for him to stop, "That's enough. He only needs to be half way."

"Tamer, what are-"

He snapped, "I'M BUSY!"

They'd never seen him act like this and shied away from the boy so that he could stare Machinedramon down, "You're probably scared. And you should be. After everything you've done, this is the best you deserve. Because I'm already thinking of a hundred other ways to end you - I had a very long time to think about this. I could take my time and draw it out, I could be better than you and make it quick and painless - which is more than I've ever seen you do. But that's not what I'm going to do, oh no. We both know that I'm way worse - because I'm going to do both. And you're probably trying to say 'have mercy, please!'. Or you would if your mouth weren't half two blocks away. But that's not the problem. The problem is you never did."

Without saying another word, he threw a sparking device through the gap and it reacted as it landed on the other side of the crack. Joe hurried covered TK's eyes while everyone else looked away. The two sides of the tear slammed shut upon each with a snap and Machinedramon made a sickening scream. SkullGreymon roared triumphantly.

In an instant, the lower half of Machinedramon's body was gone - leaving only the broken upper half of his body lying there. Tamer cackled manically and SkullGreymon joined him, "This is it! This is what you deserve!"

Sora was glad Kari couldn't see this. This is what Piximon had referred to - this is what he meant when he said some digimon called Tamer a murderer. Machinedramon's body slowly dissipated to data and he groaned in agony while Tamer continued to laugh triumphantly. The others were mortified - they could only imagine what that must feel like. Izzy guessed that it would take most of the day for Machinedramon to disappear at the rate he was slowly dissipating.

They were left asking the same question: what had happened? Matt reappeared with MetalGarurumon along with Mimi, Wizardmon, Izzy, Motimon, and Tanemon. Matt's eyes glazed over when he saw his brother, "TK!"

"Matt?" his little brother asked quietly when he saw the tears. Matt ran over to his brother and slid into a hug, "You're alive! I thought…you're alive!"

"What's going on!?" Sora asked. Matt shook his head with uncertainty and choked out, "I don't know…you guys were dead and Tamer…Agumon did…I don't know. But you're alive!"

He took a moment to calm down from crying over his little brother while Tamer continued to laugh like a mad man. Wizardmon looked over at Machinedramon's slowly dissipating body and noted, "I'm curious to hear what happened in your own words."

"What he said," Ikakumon said, "It was really weird, there was this flash of light and next thing we know we're being pulled through a crack in the air, then he started laughing."

"And he hasn't stopped either. It's really unsettling," Angemon added, "Wait, someone's coming!"

"I hear it too," Nyaromon said. The digimon turned to face up the barren street, unsure of what to expect. It didn't help that Tamer continued laughing wildly into the air. Tanemon remembered, "Oh! Right! Leomon and his digimon were following us!"

"Leomon?" TK asked, "You mean Leomon is here!"

"Digidestined!" Leomon called out as he, Andromon, and a group of Agumon appeared. The small band of digimon stopped in their track when they saw Tamer and SkullGreymon presiding over Machinedramon's body. Machinedramon let out another weak groan as Tamer's laugh grew even louder - more insane and dangerous. Leomon looked between the two sights and kept his sword drawn, "Did he just kill Ma-"

"It looks that way," Wizardmon interrupted. Leomon waved at the Agumon to stay where they were and stepped ahead of the rest of the group, "I've heard stories of the Digimon Tamer when he becomes like this…everyone please stay back. Digimon Tamer!"

Tamer stopped laughing at the sound of his voice, and faced Leomon with a crazed expression that made him flinched. Sora was glad Kari was still unconscious and unable to see this for herself. What would she say, what would she do if she ever saw her brother like this. Leomon asked, "It's been a long time. Are you…okay?"

"Okay? I'm better than okay! A hundred thousand years! No, wait, One-hundred five-thousand, one-hundred and twenty years! And now, the first of the Dark Masters is gone! He's dead! I'm ecstatic! I'm fantastic!"

Tamer said it all too gleefully before he added, "But we're not done yet! We still have three more to go. Why wait? Let's knock on their door!"

"It's about time! We still have to save Piximon!" Mimi chimed in, to the disappointment of her partner. Tamer looked at her, "Oh it's too late for Piximon! That just means the score needs settling! What do you say, Leomon?"

"Digimon Tamer, that's a dangerous proposition," Leomon said calmly, "If we go there, we'll be slaughtered. Think it through."

"I am thinking. I'm thinking that it's time that the Dark Masters paid what they owe!" Tamer shook angrily as he said those words. Mimi looked disgusted at the lion, "Yeah, what's with you? We went to find Tamer, we found him! Now let's go back!"

"You don't understand, it'd be dangerous to attack there now," Leomon said, "I wanted us to find Tamer mostly because I thought he could talk you out of it. I didn't think he'd want to go too. That's suicide if you go. Please, think it through."

"Yeah, it's dangerous. That's why we're all going together!" Tamer said more wildly, his expression becoming more unhinged with each word, "Let's go!"

"No, we're not."

Tamer's eyes narrowed and he walked towards the lion digimon, "Or what? Do you really think you can say no to us?"

He motioned specifically at himself and SkullGreymon. Leomon kept his sword out, "I will do what I have to do if it means protecting my charge - the Agumon from Koromon Village, the digimon of the Digital World, even the digidestined. I will do what I must - even if that means fighting you."

SkullGreymon roared angrily and Tamer rolled up his eyes, "Don't kid yourself Leomon. You can't beat us. We were always stronger."

"That was a long time ago," Leomon put his sword away and began stretching. TK looked between them and called out, "Wait! Don't fight each other! You're friends, right? Friends don't fight!"

"Shut up TK," Tamer growled. SkullGreymon stepped towards Leomon, the weight of his step shook the ground and rocked everyone not flying in the air. Matt shouted, "Don't talk to my brother like that!"

"What? You want to fight too?" Tamer looked at him, "Bring it!"

"Tamer, let's calm down and talk things through," Leomon said calmly, "Just take a breath and-"

Tamer tightened his fist, "No, I'm done talking. All I've done is talk and that's gotten nowhere. It's faster and quicker to just take action. And I'm taking action! We're going to Myotismon's Castle, even if I have to drag you guys there!"

SkullGreymon roared again and charged straight for the lion digimon. The other gasped and screamed at him to get out of the way. The skeletal digimon brought his hands down on the ground just as Leomon managed to leap aside. He then put a hand to his chest and beat it, "Okay then. We do this the hard way! Leomon! Warp Digivolve to! SaberLeomon!"

Leomon disappeared in flash of bright light, replaced by a feral looking beast with golden fur and feathery growth coming out of its back. The face still looked like Leomon's, except for the large fangs going down the front of his face. Unlike Tamer's wild eyed appearance, SaberLeomon appeared calm and in control, "I won't lose to either of you!"

"You learned a new trick, but it won't save you," Tamer answered. SaberLeomon charged straight at him so SkullGreymon swept the ground with his massive arm, striking the lion hard enough to throw him into a nearby building. TK called out to the lion digimon and pleaded with them to stop fighting, "Stop it you guys! Angemon! Do something!"

"Okay!"

"I'm going too!"

Angemon and MetalGarurumon joined in to help SaberLeomon, one flew to grab the lion digimon while the other unleashed a barrage of attacks on the skeleton, "ICE WOLF CLAW!"

The attacks hit their mark and were able to knock the digimon back a step. Unfortunately for the metal wolf, this annoyed SkullGreymon enough to grab for him. MetalGarurumon ascended higher out of the skeleton's reach until it launched another missile from its back, "DaRk ShOt!"

MetalGarurumon had seen what this attack had done before and flew away from the others. He was hoping he could outrun the blast but first he had to make sure the missile didn't go off anywhere near them. No matter how far he flew though, the missile managed to keep pace. He turned and weaved through the air to try and throw it off only to find that it always stayed on target. He glanced back once and saw that it had opened a toothy mouth to start chomping away in a sickening attempt to eat him.

Meanwhile, Tamer yelled at them, "You can't fight us. None of you can beat us! So stop resisting already!"

"Are you even listening to yourself? You're sounding just as insane as the Dark Masters!" SaberLeomon said as he steadied himself. Those words in particular struck a chord and Tamer shot an angry glance at him. SkullGreymon reacted and struck the ground where SaberLeomon was, only to miss due to SaberLeomon's speed.

The Agumon were torn, devastated at seeing two of their heroes fighting each other so violently. It was clear which one was the one who needed to win, but the one who needed to lose was probably the closest thing they had to a shot at beating the Dark Masters. When SkullGreymon went to attack again, Wizardmon leapt in with a wave of his wand. He appeared beside SaberLeomon, latched onto him, and the two disappeared with another wave of his hand. The skeletal digimon growled upon seeing its target escape and toppled over a nearby building in rage.

"Come on guys! We have to go!" Mimi urged them both, "Stop fighting so we can hurry and save Piximon!"

"Mimi! Do you know how crazy you sound?" Tanemon told her partner, "We all know Tamer is weird but you're acting even crazier!"

"Because I want to save a friend?" Mimi said with a scowl that stunned her partner. Izzy watched the little digimon shy away quietly and he realized he'd have to talk to her. He swallowed a worried lump in his throat - weighing his options on whether it'd be better to hit her with the blunt truth or to talk it out. There was a loud boom from the city somewhere in the direction that MetalGarurumon had gone and Izzy knew he had to take the fastest route. They needed to work together to stop the Dark Masters, but they couldn't do that if she and Tamer were trying to turn on them.

"Because you've convinced yourself you can save someone you can't! That's not right Mimi! You need to face the truth! It's why you came back from the Digital World, because you couldn't deal with your mom dying! Tanemon and I said we'd look out for you. Well, this is us looking out for you! You've lost it!"

"I haven't lost anything! We just-"

"Mimi! You're on the side of the guy who's attacking us!" Izzy said, pointing out the fact that SkullGreymon was hammering away at the ground in an attempt to get both SaberLeomon and Wizardmon. Mimi seemed to come to her senses as the digimon thrashed around and destroyed portions of the city. Izzy added, "If you keep going like this, you'll end up exactly like him!"

"No, I won't!" Mimi argued back.

"Yes you will," Joe answered quietly, taking her by surprise, "Back at the hospital, Tamer said something that I didn't dwell too much on. He said that he'd lost a lot and that he couldn't lose any more. I don't fully get what's going on but if I had to guess based on what Matt and Tamer said - then it's likely that he either nearly lost us or did. Which doesn't even begin to make sense. But what he's doing now…that's his reaction to it. And it should be obvious, this isn't something that just happened. This is something that's been building up, Mimi."

"If you keep going the way you're going Mimi, how long until you're blowing up cities too?" Tanemon said pleadingly, "That's not the Mimi I know!"

Mimi looked between the three of them and felt a wave of calm come over, "I'm sorry."

Alarmed by SkullGreymon's strength, the other digimon joined in. Andromon began attacking with his cannon. Birdramon and Angemon were trying to harass him from above while Ikakumon took to shooting at him from a distance. When this wasn't enough, the other digidestined's crests shone to let their partner go one level further to ultimate.

"Birdramon! Digivolve to! Garudamon!"

"Ikakumon! Digivolve to! Zudomon!"

The two Ultimates clashed with SkullGreymon and were enough together to throw him down the street into another building. The impact kicked up a gust of wind that blew dirt and debris everywhere, but Tamer's expression became even more manic, "What? You guys want to fight too? Do you think you can beat me when you won't even fight with your own digimon?"

Matt opened his mouth to respond, only to find himself punched in the gut so hard that he fell to his knees. TK called out to his older brother, only to get push to the ground by Tamer, "Stay down, or I'll _make_ you stay down!"

Joe raised his hands, "Look just calm d-"

Tamer came close to decking him in the face, only to be stopped by one of the Agumon, "Stop it! This isn't you!"

"This has always been me!" Tamer turned on the little digimon. That close, Joe could tell that Tamer wasn't even looking at the digimon. Or rather, he was looking at the Agumon but it was clear that the Agumon wasn't the one he was seeing. Another Agumon latched on to the boy from behind to try and pin him, only for Tamer to tuck and roll onto his back - flattening the little dinosaur, "Get off me!"

"Don't hurt him! Just hold him!" another Agumon said as they started piling onto the boy. It was obvious that they were doing everything to stop the boy they held so highly without hurting him. The shame was that he didn't share their sentiment and went out of his way to throw them around. When there was enough of them to finally tackle him to the ground, he held out his digivice and blasted them away with a flash of light, "GET OFF!"

The Agumon screamed and were thrown off him with explosive force. Tamer crawled to his feet, "I am not asking you! I am telling you!"

"I've heard enough," Wizardmon appeared beside the boy and batted at his knee with his staff. The strike sent the boy to the floor and Wizardmon lectured, "Stop being a hypocrite, Tamer. You should know better than anyone that you should never attempt to take fate into your own hands! That's what the Dark Masters did! It's what Myotismon did! It's literally the very thing your people opposed. In the end, that's why they lost the war isn't it? Because they chose to take control of destiny and alter its course! After everyone you've seen fail, how could you think you could do it any better Tamer? After everything you've done to preserve the future!?"

"Destiny is already off course and doomed! I'm trying to get it back on track!" Tamer countered, "I want us to end the Dark Masters now! You're the ones trying to avoid that!"

"Says the person who saved my life!" Wizardmon shouted back. Tamer's eye twitched, "You didn't want me to save you? Fine! Let's fix that!"

He spun on the ground and swept Wizardmon's feet. Wizardmon fell and Tamer scrambled on top of him, raising his fists to strike him, "DIE!"

"No!" Nyaromon leapt onto Tamer's face and knocked him to the ground, "I WON'T LET YOU HURT HIM! GET YOUR-"

"GET OFF!" Tamer didn't take long to grab the little yellow cat and throw her aside, "I should have killed you when I had the chance!"

"Tamer! Are you even listening to yourself!?" Sora finally found the nerve to shout at him, while still holding Kari, "What's gotten in to you!? You need to-"

"FUCK OFF SKY!" Tamer shouted at her as he got up, infuriating her enough to kick him while he was still on all fours. Wizardmon and Nyaromon took advantage of the chance to scramble over him. Even Joe and Matt joined in pinning him to the ground. Tamer struggled against them and tried reaching for his digivice, only to find TK wrestling it out of his hand. The boy was unbelievably strong but they still managed to pull him up onto his feet. Some of the Agumon came back and started holding him by the legs. Wizardmon grabbed him by his hair and faced him towards SkullGreymon, "GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF! Look at what you've done to Agumon!"

"Wha-" Tamer looked up at SkullGreymon and fell silent. The manic expression on his face grew somber as he looked at the skeletal digimon fighting Angemon, Garudamon, Zudomon, and SaberLeomon. Despite being outnumbered, SkullGreymon held his own fairly well. He stopped fighting against the others as the shock overwhelmed him. They loosened their grip to see if he would do anything, then let him go when it was obvious he was no longer belligerent. Instead, he sank to his knees and whimpered, "What have I done?"

"You can start by telling us exactly what's going on," Sora said gently, still cradling Kari in her arms, "And don't leave anything out. What's happening?"

Tamer was silent as he stared out the skeletal monstrosity that was his best friend. It seemed so much more powerful than the others so Tanemon and Tentomon joined the fray after digivolving to their Ultimate forms. Lillymon and MegaKabuterimon added to their group's strength by helping to overwhelm SkullGreymon but their attacks still didn't do anything to slow him down. It wasn't until MetalGarurumon returned and carpeted SkullGreymon with explosives that it seemed the tide was starting to turn in their favor.

Finally, Tamer looked like he'd regained himself enough to answer, "You died. Sora, Biyomon, TK, Patamon, Joe, Gomamon, Kari, Nyaromon, and Wizardmon. You all died."

"No we didn't, we're right here," TK said. Matt disagreed, "No, he's right! You guys were ambushed by Machinedramon. There was this bright flash, and then you were gone!"

"I…I don't know what happened," Tamer shook his head quietly, his voice shaking and his eyes wide with horror, "I…I just couldn't lose any…anyone else. I was so angry…I just…lost myself. The digivice…its supposed to channel…to channel emotional energy. Agumon, what have I done?"

"What do you think?" Wizardmon almost accused the boy, "It'll take all of us to stop him."

"I...just wanted to save...to save her," Tamer mumbled, clutching at his head in terror of the sight before him, "I shouldn't have..."

"This is hopeless," Matt groaned, "He's completely out of it."

"Dad said something about this. Some people completely shut down when they're under stress," Joe remembered quietly. Sora seemed excited, "Okay, did your dad say what to do when someone is like this?"

"He said everyone has their own way of coping - to process their emotions. He didn't say anything about what to do to help. Only to give them space," Joe said quietly. Matt looked between the two boys and grunted, "So the one guy who probably would know what to do can't do anything. Sora, do you have any ideas?"

"I'd still like to know what is going on!" Sora answered, "I have never been more confused than I am right now. First there was Machinedramon, then a bright light, then whatever that is! What did we miss!"

"Retcon," Tamer mumbled, "Retroactive-Explosive-Temporal-Continuity-Obfuscation-Nullifier."

"Did anyone else just hear a bunch of meaningless noise?" Mimi grumbled angrily, "Izzy, you're smart. What was he talking about?"

"I have no idea!" Izzy answered sharply, folding his arms, "Can we worry about this after we stop SkullGreymon?"

"HOWLING CRUSHER!" SaberLeomon sank his enormous fangs into SkullGreymon's bone, and was thrown aside for his trouble. SkullGreymon roared again and focused his attention on the digimon on the ground who were easier to hit. Zudomon and MegaKabuterimon attacked him from opposite sides, using their hammer and horn respectively to strike. SkullGreymon caught both their attacks and held them still - leaving him open for Garudamon to deal her own blow, "Wing Blade!"

SkullGreymon looked to be smiling as it swung both Zudomon and MegaKabuterimon in front of itself. Garudamon's attack hit both digimon in the back and they yelped.

"Sorry!" Garudamon apologized. With his back exposed, Angemon and Lillymon used this chance to attack from behind, "Flower Cannon!"

"Hand of Fate!"

SkullGreymon turned and used MegaKabuterimon as a shield before throwing Zudomon at the two. Lillymon was smaller and easily able to move out his path. Angemon wasn't as lucky and was sandwiched between Zudomon and a building that he slammed in to. It made a noise that almost sounded like laughter as it started throttling MegaKabuterimon. It stopped only when it was hit from behind by a barrage of attacks. Another group of Machinedramon's army had appeared - Tankmon, Guardromon, Mekanorimon, Gigadramon, Hagurumon and more looked to be making a final stand.

"There! They have Machinedramon!"

"Everyone! Open fire!"

"For the Dark Masters!"

Their attacks drew SkullGreymon's attention away from their digimon, giving them time to fall away. It was good too, as Angemon regressed to Patamon while Zudomon reverted to Bukamon. Lillymon carried the injured digimon back to safety, "He's way too strong. It doesn't make any sense. He's supposed to be an Ultimate! How is he holding his own against a Mega like MetalGarurumon?"

"Maybe it's like with Myotismon," Sora guessed, "He was an Ultimate and could fight off six of us at the same time!"

"What about an Ultimate that can beat down an army?" Wizardmon pointed out as the last of Machinedramon's soldiers were destroyed. SkullGreymon howled triumphantly, reveling in the knowledge that it had destroyed so many digimon at once. When its revelry died down, it eyed their small band and looked ready to attack. Nyaromon panicked, "He's coming this way!"

"What do we do?" Joe whispered quietly. Izzy looked between the digimon and Tamer's digivice in TK's hand. Tamer himself said some time ago that the digivice drew on emotional energy to fuel digivolution. And the crests themselves were activated by differing traits of the digidestined. Each one was able to bring the digidestined's digimon partners to higher levels. Who was to say the same wasn't true for the digivices? If so, how much further could they push digimon without the aid of the crests?

It seemed they could go pretty far going by how powerful SkullGreymon was. It drew on emotional energy - he was mad before but now he seemed to be shocked, almost terrified of what he'd let his partner become. Processing all of this information in his mind brought Izzy to a solution. It was a long shot but if they could snap him out of it, then maybe he could sap the energy that was making SkullGreymon so powerful. Izzy ran straight up to the boy and slapped him as hard as he could, "Tamer! Snap out of it!"

Tamer didn't react to the strike but fell to his side, still stupefied by SkullGreymon. Sora looked at the boy, "Izzy, what's gotten in to you!?"

"Don't you get it! It's The Tamer! He's the one feeding SkullGreymon! If we snap him out of...whatever, we can end this rampage here and now!" Izzy proclaimed, "Tamer, you have to listen to me. Get a hold of yourself."

Still no reaction.

Joe added, "If you don't, we're all going to be killed! Tamer, listen to us!"

Again, nothing. Just a blank frozen stare as he gazed up at the monster that was his friend. The monster drew closer with each step and they felt the tension rise as time ran out. Sora said, "Tai! Think about Kari! She's going to die if you don't get a hold of yourself!"

There was a spark of fire in his eyes, and Tamer seemingly found the words to talk, "Kari?"

"Your sister!" Sora said at the top of her lungs. Tamer looked at the girl in genuine confusion, "Wha…what should I do?"

This motivated Matt to deck the boy across the face as hard as he could. Tamer fell to the ground, rubbing his cheek in stunned surprise, "Wha?"

"What should you do? WHAT SHOULD YOU DO? After all the times you told me to stop coddling my little brother and taking care of him, did you honestly think I would let you get a free pass when your sister needed you?" Matt massaged his knuckles, "I accepted the fact that TK can take care of himself, especially when he has Patamon. But don't think for one second that this means you can leave Kari in danger like this! She needs you! Your her brother, right? Step up! Didn't you say back at the hospital that you didn't want to lose anyone else? Well you're about to lose her and all of us too! So snap out of whatever is bugging you and DO SOMETHING!"

Tamer looked up at him dumbly then offered his hand to the blonde, "Sorry."

Matt pulled the boy up to his feet and watched him dust himself off. Then Tamer smiled, "Do me a favor. Hit me."

Without another word, Matt struck Tamer as hard as he could on the side of the cheek. He hissed, "OW! YES! We're back! Ow, that really hurt. You really wanted to hit me, didn't you? Okay, TK - digivice!"

TK sheepishly offered him back his digivice, then he ran out to meet the skeletal digimon, "SkullGreymon! Look at me! Over here!"

It stopped in its tracks and observed the boy casually walking towards it. It roared menacingly and he roared right back at it, taking it by surprise. The roar quieted down to a growl and Tamer asked, "It's over SkullGreymon. It's done. I'm sorry...for what I did. I let my anger get the better of me and it turned you into something you're not supposed to be. What you are supposed to be is my friend. I need my friend back. Please?"

SkullGreymon roared in defiance so Tamer said again, "There's no one left! Machinedramon's army is gone and he's half dead! I don't care if you tear into them. But you can't fight the digidestined, the Agumon, Wizardmon, Andromon, or Leomon."

SkullGreymon growled then roared even louder at Tamer. The boy ran a hand through his hair, "I mean you shouldn't fight them. You can, but you shouldn't. It's for the same reason you can't fight me. It's the reason you won't fight me. We're friends."

SkullGreymon stared quietly at Tamer quietly for the longest time before cracking a tired yawn. The skeletal digimon took on a soft orange glow as it slowly crumbled away to dust that scattered with the wind. When it passed, all that was left was Koromon lying unconscious on the ground before him. Tamer hurried forward to pick up his partner, "I'm sorry, buddy."

Sora looked to the others and walked towards him first. She still had no real idea what had been going on, but both Tamer and Koromon were at least not attacking them now. It was a relief for all of them since none of them were really sure they could have done anything against the rampaging SkullGreymon. Of course, it was TK who'd heard the one thing they'd all missed, "Wait, did Tamer call us friends?"

"After what he put us through? You're kidding," Mimi remarked as Lillymon fluttered along side her, "He's been slowly coming around. That's a good thing, right?"

"He attacked us!" MegaKabuterimon pointed out, "I don't know about you guys but I don't treat my friends like this."

Wizardmon opened his mouth to speak, only to be silenced when the ground started shaking beneath their feet. In the middle of their fight, none of them had noticed that Machinedramon had finally finished disappearing into data. And it seemed that the city of Aca'dehmia was joining him in disappearing. Just a few blocks down the street, they could see the city turning to nothing and leaving a black void where there had once been sky, land, buildings, streets, and more.

"We'd better go," Wizardmon said, "It doesn't look like it will be safe here much longer."

"Everyone! Get on one of the flying digimon!" Sora shouted to the others. Garudamon lowered down onto all fours so that the others could climb on - Sora, Kari, Nyaromon, Wizardmon, Joe, Bukamon, and Mimi. TK, Patamon, Izzy, Andromon, Leomon, and the Agumon climbed onto MegaKabuterimon. Matt held on to MetalGarurumon and prepared to take off, but stopped when he saw Tamer still standing there holding Koromon. Matt offered his hand, "Tamer, come on!"

"I can't, Matt," Tamer's voice was quiet, "After all I put you guys through, I don't deserve to-"

"Shut up and get on!" Matt wasn't in the mood for sulking, especially from someone who was usually so happy-go-lucky. Even if he'd been a jerk in the past, the fact was that they were only alive because he was able to stop SkullGreymon. TK was alive because of whatever he'd done. As far as Matt was concerned, he owed these two one. He said again, "Come on!"

Tamer still didn't move so Matt groaned and patted MetalGarurumon on the head. The metal wolf ran forward, lowering his head to scoop up Tamer. The boy yelped in surprise when he realized where he was but didn't protest when the wolf took to the air. They must have ascended a hundred feet before they looked down and saw only a black void where before there had been a city. Both Izzy and Wizardmon lamented the lost knowledge while the others looked at the two in total surprise. To one side, they could see a vast expanse of forest and they could see a vast expanse of ocean in the other direction.

In between was only an empty void of darkness - as though someone had painted this entire part of the world black. It was hollow, empty, and completely wrong.

"So does anyone know what just happened? This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder," Lillymon asked no one in particular. Leomon guessed, "That area of the Digital World was Machinedramon's domain on Spiral Mountain. It's more than likely that the entire area is gone now that Machinedramon is gone."

"Yeah, about that. What exactly did you do?" Matt asked, "You told us to leave, but what exactly did you do?"

"I think we all want to know," Sora said expectantly. Tamer remained silent and brushed Koromon quietly, refusing to answer the question. Wizardmon pressed the matter, "You called it retcon. What is that?"

Sora felt Kari stirring in her arms and witnessed the little girl sit up in her arms. Something about her was off - she appeared wide awake but something about her expression looked to be asleep. She turned to face Tamer and asked, "Do you want to tell them, or should I?"

Her voice echoed, as if several voices were talking at once with her. Sora's eyes widened in surprise, "Kari! What's going on!?"

"I am not Kari…the memories in this body identify her as Hikari Kamiya," the voice said from Kari's body, "But make no mistake, I am not Kari Kamiya."

"You," Tamer said in surprise, "Why are you here?"

"To do the thing you won't," Kari said dully, "To tell the digidestined what they need to know, without deciding what is and isn't okay to tell them. Or, as you would put it, keeping things on a 'need to know' basis."

"And what's that?" Tamer asked Kari quietly.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** What force had taken control of Kari? What exactly did Tamer do? The Dark Masters are still out there - will the Digidestined save the Digital World? Find out next week on Friday October 7th 5PM CST. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism and speculation into the next chapter in the series. I make a point of replying in a day or two, unless it's a guest review. Then I'll only respond if it's signed as something other than guest in the next Author's Notes. Now for lines from the next chapter:

Joe added, "This isn't right! You shouldn't be going through someone's memories without their permission!"

"Inform Master Piedmon, we've captured The Digimon Tamer," Devimon commanded to one of the Guardromon

"They're kids!" Gennai reminded them loudly, "This is extreme, even for us."

Tai went into a full panic, "DigiWorld? How do I get back!? Kari! Where's Kari!? And my parents!? I have to find them!"

"We refused to be dragged into your war," Kari said, "It's plain as that."


	40. The Past Forgotten

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hey there folks. It's good to see you all and thanks for stopping by to give this story a read. A big thanks to everyone who either favorited or followed the story, as well as those of you who have left reviews. And an even bigger thanks to reader AceSpiritwell for creating the cover art for this story. Check out their fan fiction profile and DeviantArt account. They've made some great fan art for this, as has reader BelenDigiEvolution. Why not give them a peak? Just go to my profile and copy the provided links! I won't waste any more time, let's start the story.

 **Edit:** Fixed a discrepancy with the title that got missed.

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 40: The Past Forgotten**

"Answer their questions," Kari said quietly. Sora saw the empty look in little Kari's eyes and asked, "Who are you? What have you done with Kari?"

Tamer answered her question, "It's an Ethereal. They exist outside of reality and have limited influence over it. They go by a lot of names - spirits, gods, angels, ghosts, phantasms. I like to call them pests. Annoyances."

"Much like how we called your people arrogant," Kari said blankly, "You meddled in affairs you were never meant to, and reaped the fruit of your seeds."

"So which one are you? There were a lot of your kind. Who are we talking to?" Tamer asked Kari. Her voice echoed and became deep as she spoke, "I am the manifestation of the equilibrium of this world - Homeostasis. I have taken many names from this world's inhabitants - some call me Goddess, others call me Creator, yet some-"

"I'm going to call you Boring," Tamer remarked, "Or better yet, maybe I'll call you Coward."

"A name more fitting for you," Kari retorted.

Tamer snorted, "Back in the war, they could have helped. Instead, they ran away - fled from the Digital World for other ones. They left the Digital World to fend for itself because they didn't want to die."

"We refused to be dragged into your war," Kari said, "It's plain as that."

"Give Kari back!" Nyaromon hissed at the girl, only to fall quiet when Kari's gaze shifted to the little cat digimon, "She's still here. She agreed to let me use her as a host and is watching. She's just as curious as the rest of you. Did she ever say? The child of light is more selfish than she'll admit. She's ashamed of it too, if only you could see the look on her face."

Her face remained ever impassive as she spoke. Sora wasn't going to stand for how it was talking about Kari, "Don't talk about Kari like that!"

"Why not? I'm sure you'd love to know too. The reason she came to the Digital World wasn't to help save it. She came to find out what happened to her older brother - to the one she calls Tai Kamiya. And you call him that too. How odd, we know him as the Digimon Tamer. There are distinct memories of you within them with this Tai. Are you siblings as well? No, not siblings. Family friends. That's correct you two are family friends."

"Okay, that's not creepy at all," Mimi frowned. Joe added, "This isn't right! You shouldn't be going through someone's memories without their permission!"

Kari whipped her head towards Joe so quickly that he flinched, "I already have that permission. And if I didn't, do you really think you could do anything to stop me? You are just human."

"Then we'll stop you!" an Agumon said and the others agreed in unison. Kari's expression remained blank as she confronted them, "And how will you do that without hurting Kari?"

Their cheers fell silent while Kari waved her hand through the air. The world around them shifted and distorted, blurring together before fading to darkness, "You all know why you're here. To save the Digital World from the darkness that seeks to swallow it. Long ago, the Digital World existed in a state of perfect balance as a nexus - a cross point between multiple worlds that existed along side each other."

As she spoke, the Digital World shifted so that half the world around them bathed in a blinding white light while the other half remained in darkness. She waved her hands again and the world blurred, "That all changed after one event - one that changed all your fates and had severe ramifications for everyone."

The world around them came back into focus and they saw themselves hover over a darkened street in Tokyo in their world. Two apartment buildings were flanked the sides and sat in front of an overpass that connected the sidewalks. Six children stood at the balconies of their own apartments, peeking out at the battle below in surprise as the fight played out. The overpass was destroyed in a battle between two monsters - a large green parrot and a large orange dinosaur. Everyone pieced it together right away, but TK was the first one to say it, "That's Highton View Terrace!"

Sora noticed the impassive look on Tamer's face - as if he didn't quite care about what he was looking at. The digimon were confused though, and Leomon asked, "What's Highton View Terrace?"

"It's the place in our world where we saw our first digimon," Matt explained, "We all lived here a long time ago, and this was how we figured out that Kari was the eighth digidestined."

"It's also when Tai disappeared," Sora added quietly. Kari nodded and waved her hand again, bringing the scene to life. The two monsters roared and charged at each other again while two children came into view under them. A younger Kari in a pink onesie and a boy resembling a younger Tamer wearing pajamas. They were similar to the old clothes that Tamer had loaned to TK. The young Tai threw himself over Kari as the two monsters threw their most powerful attacks, "Kari! I'll protect you!"

As soon as the attacks met, there was a flash of white light and a crack appeared in the sky. Kari screamed and the young Tai found himself pulled skyward, "Kari! No!"

Kari continued to scream in terror, her eyes closed shut and her hands over herself to shield herself. Tai screamed as he was pulled higher into the sky, faster than either of the two giant digimon. All three disappeared into the sky in another bright flash of light. All seven remaining children fell unconscious - Sora, Kari, TK, Matt, Joe, Mimi, and Izzy.

Kari waved her hand again and the scene disappeared to darkness. Matt asked, "We already know all this. Why did you show it to us again?"

"Context for this next part," Kari answered as she waved her hand again.

* * *

Tai awoke in a desert, half buried in the sand. There was nothing but barren empty sand no matter where he looked. He wondered quietly, "Where am I?"

He tried to think about what he was doing before he got here. He remembered waking up to find his sister sleeping with an egg. A little black ball of fuzz with cute little eyes hatched from the egg and scurried under the bed. Then there was something about fighting his cat. Kari was especially fond of the creature and…he entered into a panic as he remembered, "Kari! Kari! Where are you!?"

She was nowhere to be found. He called our for her again, only to be answered with a voice, "Hey, keep it down would you?"

Some of the sand shifted and a familiar pink ball with long floppy ears appeared. It was the strange creature that had appeared on their dad's computer, "Greymon!"

"It's Koromon now," the little creature said groggily, cracking a tired yawn and shaking some of the san off it. Tai looked down at the little ball, confused by the consistent name changes, "But you said-"

"I know what I said Tai-Tai. That was when I was Greymon! I'm Koromon now," the little ball yawned quietly, "Man, am I tired. What happened?"

"I don't know. You were fighting that big parrot. Then there was this light and the next thing I know, we're in the middle of the desert!" Tai recalled the events leading up to this point, "Where are we, anyway?"

Tai couldn't quite place it, but something about this place was different. The air, the feel of the sand between his fingers, everything was just not right. He couldn't quite place why, but it made his skin crawl. Koromon opened his eyes and looked around them carefully, "I think this is the DigiWorld."

"DigiWorld?"

"It's my world, where digimon come from," Koromon explained. Tai went into a full panic, "DigiWorld? Oh no! Mom's going to ground me when she finds out I went somewhere alone! No, forget that. She'll kill me when she finds out I was out all night! How do I get back!? And Kari! Where's Kari!?"

"Go back? You mean to your world?"

Tai looked around in all directions hastily in full panic, "Yeah! Oh man, mom is going to be so mad for getting lost."

"I think those are the least of your worries," Koromon remarked, until Tai rounded on him. He pleaded for answers, "Where do we go? How do we get there? What do we do?"

"I don't know, I've never been here," Koromon offered sheepishly. Tai furrowed his brow, "How can you not know?"

"The DigiWorld is a big place, Tai-Tai. There's no way I'd know where I was if you just randomly dropped me somewhere," Koromon answered, much to Tai's disappointment. He glumly stared down at his own two feet and began wondering what he should do next. He had to get back home, but how was he supposed to do that? He looked around at the alien landscape and felt so completely overwhelmed. Before he knew it, tears welled up in his eyes and he began to whimper. Koromon frowned at the little kid and hopped out of his arms to try and cheer him up, "Hey! Don't cry Tai-Tai! It'll be alright! We can find a way back!"

"How?" Tai sniffled, snot coming down his nose. Koromon looked around anxiously, "We'll find one! First, let's find a place to get out of this heat."

"But where do we go?" Tai wiped his face with his sleeve. Koromon smiled, "Forward looks like a good place to start! Trust me"

* * *

They walked for three days through the heat and the sun, stopping only to rest at night when it was cold. Tai's throat was dry and his stomach rumbled in protest with each step they took. He tried to satiate himself by swallowing his own saliva, but it did little to help him, "Koromon…how much further are we going?"

"I don't know. I hope we find something soon," Koromon answered, "I'd…wait…do you see that!"

"See what? WATER!" Tai looked up and saw a lush desert oasis in the middle of the desert. A small pond surrounded by green bushes and palm trees providing shade. Even better, there was fruit hanging from the tree that was ripe for the picking. Without a second thought, he took off for a sprint with Koromon following close behind, "It's water!"

The closer they got, the further the oasis seemed. Even still, they continued chasing it until it vanished to thin air. The two stopped running after that point, gasping for breath and sweating away from over exertion, "It's gone!"

"Aw man, it was a mirage," Koromon murmured. Tai's lower lip trembled and he kicked the sand under him in anger, "It's not fair! It's not!"

Koromon watched the little boy throw his tantrum until he ran out of steam which didn't take long. Under the heat of the sun and with no water around, he could only be angry for so long until the fatigue caught up with him. He fell into a seated position, "This is hopeless. We've been walking for days and we haven't gotten anywhere!"

"Don't give up yet," Koromon tried to encourage the boy but even he was feeling the effects of their days of walking. Tai looked at the little boy, "Yeah right. How much further do we have to go? I'm tired, I'm hungry, I'm thirsty, I have to go potty! I can't do this any more! I want to go home! I wa…wha? What's happening?"

The ground beneath them started rumbling and the sand shifted violently, moving aside and parting for a large red insect. It was as tall as the giant bird he'd seen just a few days before and looked just as vicious with its gaping maw covered in teeth. The two broke off in another sprint away from the roar of the monster, "What is that thing?"

"Kuwagamon! A big mean bug!"

"Is he a friend of yours?" Tai asked the little ball, "Maybe he just wants to say hi!?"

"Yeah, he wants us to meet his insides!" Koromon yelped, hurrying without looking back, "Just run!"

The two screamed even louder as the Kuwagamon gave chase after them, until it was tackled from the side by a large red dinosaur. Tai looked back at the two giant monsters as they started fighting each other viciously, "What is that?"

"Who cares! Just keep running!" Koromon shouted. The two ran as fast as they could through the desert, putting the two giant monsters as far behind them as they could.

* * *

Days passed and the desert gradually gave way to lush green fields and dense forests. There, they were finally able to find water from a stream and berries from some bushes that were safe to eat. Unfortunately, the berries didn't agree with either of them and they had to regularly go separate directions to take of their business. Aside from that inconvenience, they had shade from the heat of the sun and water to refresh them which made for a good place to rest.

When they awoke hours later, it was dark and Tai had chills. He shivered against the cold and looked around in the silence, "It's freezing."

"Hm? No it's not," Koromon said flopping an ear onto him, "It's…wow, you're really warm!"

"I am?" Tai sniffled, putting a hand to his head, "I feel cold."

"Yeah, you're burning up!" Koromon put one of his floppy ears on him, "You're sick!"

"It's freezing," Tai mumbled, too cold to think straight. Koromon nodded, "Yeah! We need to get a fire to warm you up and some water! Hang on, I'll be right back!"

"Koromon wait!" Tai said too slow as the little ball bounced away into the darkening forest. He looked around the darkened trees, hoping Koromon would come back soon. It wasn't that he was afraid of the dark. He wasn't - but he didn't want to be alone, lost in another world surrounded with nothing but the clothes he had on.

His family crossed his mind in those moments of loneliness: Kari, his mother, his father. It had been days since he'd come to this world and he wondered if they were okay. Were they looking for him, worried that harm would come to him? Would they even think to look in another world to find him? How could they think to look in another world? Thinking about it made him sick with anxiety and he wanted someone, anyone, beside him to make him feel at ease. The strength to call out into the darkness for Koromon alluded him, and fatigue swept over him so he closed his eyes.

When he awoke hours later, he was covered in a layer of leaves up to his neck and Koromon was vigorously rubbing two sticks together to get a fire going. He murmured, "Koromon."

"Oh, hey, you're awake," Koromon said, "I covered you with leaves to keep you warm and I'm trying to make a fire right now."

"I'm hungry," Tai realized as his stomach growled. Koromon nodded, "Yeah, most of what I found were more of those berries. But I did find these mushrooms. They look okay to eat."

"I don't like mushrooms," Tai murmured. Koromon looked at him big eyed, "Sorry Tai-Tai. It's all I could find."

Koromon gave him a handful of mushrooms with his floppy ears. Tai looked at them repulsively, recalling all the times his mother tried to make him eat one of her 'healthy' recipes. A combination of her poor cooking skill and choice in groceries usually resulted in an unappetizing mess. He'd often eat Kari's share to spare her the misery of eating any of it - but even that was looking more appetizing than the raw mushroom, "I'm not very hungry."

"Well you should eat," Koromon said, "I don't know how long it will take me to get a fire going and you'll need to keep your strength up."

He dropped the mushroom to the ground, "Maybe later."

"Are you sure?" Koromon bounced over and took a bite out of it. His expression was pained from the taste but he still said, "It tastes really good!"

"I think I'm just going to sleep for now," Tai replied, closing his eyes again and letting the darkness take him. He awoke some time later to see a fire crackling in front of him. Koromon rested beside him, curled up to keep him warm. His stomach rumbled with pain as he stared out at the pile of mushrooms beside the fire. He was incredibly hungry and the passage of time did little to make the mushrooms any more appetizing. All things have a limit, a threshold where any standard fails them as they lose themselves to their desires. Right now, his hunger was overpowering his distaste for these mushrooms.

He ate one, then another without thinking. They tasted awful and he felt like he was going to throw up. But he was so hungry that he didn't care. So he kept eating them, one after another. With each bite, he began to think of his mother's home cooking - the horrible smell, the worse taste, and wished for that instead. Then he began to wonder why he wanted it at all? It wasn't like he had a mother. Who would cook for him? The more he ate, the more he wondered why he was eating at all. He wasn't hungry, so why was he eating? He felt cold and tired, so he closed his eyes and fell asleep again.

* * *

Gennai marched through the forest, occasionally stopping to look at his digivice. He was a young man of no more than two hundred years, with short cropped brown hair styled up with a tiny brush of hair at the back of his head fashioned into a short pony tail. His robes were white and worn with mud and dirt. A few weeks ago, a signal came from out in the desert - weak signal that indicated a reality shift or movement between worlds. His superiors were content to ignore it at first, a signal that weak couldn't have transported anything big or important. But the signal persisted after so long and Gennai refused to overlook anything that was a little different.

He double checked his heading and continued through the forest until the unmistakable sound of a Kuwagamon roaring in delight could be heard from the direction of whatever was the source of his signal. He hurried his pace until he came into a clearing in the forest where a large red Kuwagamon could be seen holding two small beings. A child and a Koromon.

Both seemed dazed and confused, unalarmed by the Kuwagamon about to eat them. Rather, the two didn't even seem aware of their situation. The Kuwagamon looked to savor eating them so Gennai hurried ahead and pointed his digivice at the creature, "Kuwagamon! Leave them alone!"

The large digimon stopped to examine Gennai before roaring, telling him to leave or be eaten. Gennai tried again, "They're just kids! Let them go and find something else to eat."

When it roared again defiantly, Gennai realized he had no choice. He sighed and shined a light from his digivice straight at it. The creature screamed and dropped the two. While it wasn't blinded by the light as it had no eyes, the beams still burned its flesh. It spread its wings and flew away from Gennai - from the light he was using to burn its body. He waited to be sure it was gone before hurrying to check the two.

The Koromon was injured but would heal quickly as a digimon. But the boy wasn't. He couldn't have been more than a few years and had fallen fifteen feet from the air. He was still breathing which was a good sign but there was no doubt that he'd need to be taken care of. Gennai scooped the two up in his arms and hurried back as fast as he could.

* * *

It was a miracle that either of them survived for as long as he did. The Koromon recovered well but was unable to answer any of the questions he was given. Which meant they would have to ask the boy and there were a lot of questions that Gennai would have to ask the boy. His superiors in the council were doing everything they could to distance themselves from the outsider that Gennai had brought into their society.

He was kept in a small room in a hospital, isolated from other patients to reduce the risk of spreading anything. They had no idea where he was from or if he contained anything that could be potentially infectious to the others his age. Or if there was anything they had that could be infectious to him.

Gennai found the boy sitting on a bed with white sheets staring out the window blankly at the city outside. He was so small against the large frame that it assured Gennai of how helpless the boy must be feeling. The boy hardly seemed to register his presence as he walked over to the side of the bed and pulled up a chair to sit beside him. He seemed to have recovered well, though he was skinnier than when he first found the poor thing. The boy only looked at him when he said, "Hello."

The way he stared blankly was unnerving but Gennai pressed on, "You've been asleep for a while. A few weeks actually. We didn't find you in the best of conditions."

The boy gave no reaction so Gennai continued, "My name is Gennai. What is yours?"

"Yours?" the boy repeated.

"Your name? What's your name?" Gennai asked. The boy stared at him silently, either because he didn't know the answer or didn't understand the question. Finally the boy replied, "I don't know."

Gennai wasn't happy to hear that answer and ran a hand through his hair patiently. He'd had some suspicions about what happened to the two while they were out there, but hoped that none of those things happened. The fact that he didn't know his own name was a bad sign, "Where is your family?"

"Family?" the boy asked.

"You know, your parents or siblings. Your mother and father? Brothers and sisters?" Gennai asked. The boy looked at him quizzically and Gennai sighed. He was familiar with these signs and began to suspect what was at fault. But first, he needed to confirm those suspicions. He asked the boy a few more questions and was met with either silence or confused responses. Gennai only stopped when it became obvious that the boy was uncomfortable with being prodded. He met with a few of the staff taking care of the boy after the questioning period and asked them to run one single test. They were apprehensive at first, more comfortable with the idea that the two were disoriented after jumping from one world to another. Gennai urged them to do it anyway and was glad to see it confirmed his suspicions. He went back to meet the council later and explain his findings, as well as make the case for the two. The council had its own plans for the two and, with any luck, Gennai might be able to influence them.

"Memory mushroom poisoning. High levels in both their bloodstreams. It will take weeks to clear it out of their systems," Gennai informed the council, "Until then, their short term memory won't function properly. As for their long term memory, it's practically been destroyed. There are no memories left in either them, nothing about where they came from, who they are, what they like to do - they're both blank slates.

"Is there any chance of reintroducing the boy to his respective world?" one council member asked.

"That's doubtful. Without his long term memory, there's no way for us to know which world he even came from. As for the Koromon, it will be difficult to reintegrate it into any of the communities without knowing what line of digivolution it comes from. We could send it to Koromon Village and find out too late that it belongs in the Meramon family instead of the Greymon family. We can't even be sure it's from _this_ Digital World. Infinite realities all with infinite branching points. We could spend eternity searching and never really know where either of them came from."

Another council member sighed, "Can we trace the reality shift?"

"Not this long after it's closed," Gennai reminded them.

"Then let's put them both down," the lead council member proposed, "There's minimal chance of returning them to their own worlds - perhaps this is as destiny intended. Call for the guard and set up a humane termination."

"They're kids!" Gennai reminded them loudly, "This is extreme, even for us."

"Mind your place."

"Mind your role," Gennai pointed out, "Yes, we've taken steps in the past to protect destiny but this is just too much, even for us."

"Why? We've blown whole worlds out of existence before. Why should this be any different, Gennai?" the lead council member asked, "Or have you grown attached to these two?"

"I feel that they could be here for another reason. We've always tried to adhere to the guidelines of destiny - monitoring the ebb and flow of each world as they advanced through the ages. If these two are here, we can't ignore the possibility that destiny brought them to us. Should that be the case, it would throw destiny out of balance to end their lives here."

"Do you have anything to confirm this?"

"Just a feeling," Gennai offered sheepishly. He heard groans from the council as a whole and one of the council members pointed out, "Gennai, this matter came to us because you decided to investigate something you were told to leave be. Now we have two that we don't know what to do with. How do we know their place wasn't to be eaten by the Kuwagamon you found them with? How do we know their place isn't to be terminated here? How do we know what their place is? Standing on hypotheticals isn't a way to build an argument. Yes, I see the irony. Our guidelines have always called for non interference. As is the case, your actions have led to more complications than our inaction ever has."

"So you're going to end it here and now as opposed to waiting to let things unfold?" Gennai pressed the council member.

"Yes, it's a standard deviation. The world he came from will certainly unravel without him on its own. Why not let nature take its course?" another council member explained calmly, "This is an issue that you presented to us. And we are dealing with it per our protocol."

"And our protocols are inappropriate for a situation on this matter," Gennai countered. Another council member took this time to speak, "Let's review the facts. Nobody on this council wants anything to do with either of the subjects. Meanwhile, Gennai clearly wants to be involved with both so why not compromise? The council will wash their hands and responsibility for both of them will be on Gennai."

There was some murmur among the council until Gennai spoke, "If the council will let me, then I will take responsible for both children."

"All in favor?" asked the lead council member. The hall erupted in near unanimous agreement, and the lead council member asked, "All opposed?"

The volume of nay sayers was much smaller and the lead council member declared, "The ayes have it. Care for both children falls to Gennai. You understand the responsibility you've undertaken, correct?"

"I do."

"Very well," the lead council member dismissed all the members present.

* * *

Kari and Tamer stared at each other for the longest time in total silence as the world returned to the black void. The silence was unnerving to everyone who had to listen to it, so Joe spoke after cracking under the tension, "So Tai lost all of his memories from eating mushrooms. And then he and Koromon ended up with that Gennai guy."

"Kari has her answer about her brother. Now will you go?" Tamer asked impatiently.

"Not until they're satisfied with all of their answers," Kari replied, "And there are still questions to be answered. There's a big one. One that's been pressing them for a long time. Why were they chosen?"

"You know?" Izzy asked anxiously.

"How would you know that?" Wizardmon inquired suspiciously.

"You know why Kari and the others became digidestined?" Nyaromon looked at her wide eyed.

"Someone has to know," Kari replied, waving her hand again. The world around them faded back to the familiar towers of Aca'dehmia. The sky was obscured by thousands of digimon and flying white spires mixed with plumes of smoke rising from across the city. On the streets below, buildings were reduced to rubble as armies of digimon and figures in armor fought each other. The digimon used whatever they had at their disposal while the figures were armed with decorated swords, weapons that resembled guns, and their own digivices. It took a second for them to realize that everything was frozen in place. There were no bodies in the city, only smoldering fires eating up what remained of buildings. Kari narrated, "These were the early days, when the fighting was centered around Aca'dehmia."

"It's like a snow globe or a diorama," TK commented.

"A really messed up one," Matt added, "Look! There are Gabumon!"

"And there are Palmon! And Gomamon!" Garudamon added, "And a bunch of other digimon like us."

"Early on, the Ancients utilized allied digimon to help them in their fight against the Dark Masters," Kari explained casually, waving her hand again to clear the smoke away to reveal a blackened void where the sky would have been. There were no stars, but the clear image of countless other worlds over head - some large and others small but all looking alien to the other, "As hard as they fought, it spread to other worlds. As victory slipped further and further away, they turned to more and more drastic measures. Many plans were tried and failed, all while their armies continued fighting. But there were always two who stood out amongst the rest, two who proved far more effective than anything else before."

With a wave of her hand, the scene before them came to life. The streets erupted into violence and the skies came alive with fire and lightning. Digimon on both sides tried to overwhelm the other - Devimon, Devidramon, Bakemon, Garurumon, Greymon, Meramon, and more. Mixed in the fighting were the Ancients, fighting viciously and furiously to kill the digimon who weren't on their side. For everyone who died, another would take their place. Across the city, pockets of fighting would turn in favor of one side or the other until a flash of light would bring the fighters back to life.

The flying spires made their way over the city, stopping to fight off the flying digimon until they had positioned themselves over areas of heavy fighting on the ground below. Then the spires would glow a bright blue light before firing it like a beam straight down into the city. The resulting blast would level several city blocks and leave it barren of life, only for another flash of light to bring more soldiers to the fight.

The most spectacular display occurred when eight of the spires formed a circle over an area of the city to create their blue light. Rather than fire it into the ground, the eight shot their lights into the center of their formation and propelled it skyward towards one of the worlds above. It struck with enough force to crack the world's surface, revealing the molten core beneath until it erupted into a fiery explosion that lit up the sky. Debris from that world scattered across the heavens, raining on other worlds above and on Aca'dehmia below.

As the fighting became more intense, a single angelic being pierce through the skies and approach one of the spires. TK gasped and pointed it out in the confusion, "No way! Is that Angemon?"

"Lucemon, the traitor," Tamer muttered sheepishly. The angel stopped just short of the spire and snapped its fingers. The spire shook and exploded before plummeting to the ground. It crashed into the city so hard that it raised a dust storm that obscured everything. Kari waved her hand again and they flew through the city. When they got to the street level, they watched countless digimon exchange blows as small groups of Ancients fought their way to clear out stronger enemies. This close, they could see something else that was a lot harder to see from above. Children, young ancients, baby digimon, In-training levels, and what looked like the parents of digimon all trying to get out of the fighting.

No matter where they turned, they always found more fighting and many were killed in the crossfire. Guardromon and Mekanorimon gunned down anyone unfortunate enough to run into them, while the Ancient soldiers would accidentally strike them in the confusion of fighting. As they continued through the streets, they saw the innocents all fleeing into a large building that was housing several large vehicles similar to the white spires in the sky. Soldiers and digimon surrounded the building, trying to protect anyone fleeing from the fighting.

"This is awful," Patamon frowned as they watched the fallen disappear into data. Something different happened to the Ancients, anyone who was killed would come aglow with light only to be struck again. The second time, their bodies would distort and change while slowly turning to data. Nyaromon added, "It's like they don't even care."

"This was still early days," Tamer remarked as they found themselves standing in the midst of the fighting. A few of the Mekanorimon stopped in their tracks to face them and attacked, "Twin Beam!"

"Look out!" one of the Agumon shouted as the attacks went right through them and into a group of Ancients behind them. The soldiers were torn apart by the attacks, screaming their last before perishing. The few survivors retreated hastily inside the building, stopping only to help children and digimon get inside for safety. One of those soldiers abandoned his position to save himself at the cost of the others and took cover inside the building, holding a digivice in his hand like a radio, "Priority message to Command. Evacuation in Memorial District has failed. I repeat, evacuation in Memorial District has failed! Our position is over run!"

A stray shot from one of the Guardromon blew apart the wall beside him, revealing the chaos outside. The blast knocked him to the floor, still holding the device in hand, "Dammit Command! Is there anyone on this frequency?"

"I am," said another voice, young and childish but carrying all the worn fatigue of the other soldiers. The soldier looked around himself into the darkened building. The voice asked again, "You were ordered to hold position and protect the civilians at any cost."

"Are you fucking kidding? This position is lost. We can't hold this area of the city, we never could!" the soldier said into the darkness, "The evacuation should have happened a long time ago, but they waited because they thought they could save the city. Now, they're just trying to save face and I lost my entire unit!"

"You ran away. That's okay, we ran too. The difference is, we weren't trying to save ourselves," said a second voice. The soldier raised an eyebrow, "I know your voices. It's you two isn't it? The half and the abandoned one!"

From the shadows came a small Agumon and an older Tai dressed in worn clothes similar to Gennai's. Both looked young but their eyes told the story of someone who'd seen more than one should have in their life time. He dressed in the same white robe but now had a few of the white armor plates on his shoulders and hips. The soldier snickered at the sight of them, "I knew it. The half breed and the abandoned Koromon. I thought you two were 'Youth Corp'. What are you doing this close to the fighting? Shouldn't you be doing recon in some other part of the city…or running supplies?"

"We don't follow orders, sort of like you do," Agumon answered, "Heading out?"

"Yeah, wait for my signal," Tamer replied as he walked straight out into the hole of the wall. The soldier looked at him incredulously, "What? Are you planning on playing the hero? You're no hero kid! You have the name of a hero, but that's just a legend! A story! You're no Tamer."

"I'm more of a hero than you," Tamer said back, "I'm not running away."

The soldier scoffed as Tamer hurried outside and watched the sight unfold before them. The soldiers had put down their weapons and their allied digimon were on their knees. Leading the Guardromon was a Devimon attempting to sway the surrendering soldiers to join forces. When none of them would, it unleashed a flurry of black gears that infected their friendly digimon and made them hostile. The digimon snarled and hissed at their former comrades who shook in fear. All of this stopped when one of the Mekanorimon was alerted to Tamer's presence, "Alert! Alert! The Digimon Tamer is detected!"

The other Mekanorimon and Guardromon stopped what they were doing to face the oncomer. He held his hands above his head and said nothing. The Devimon watched with curious fascination as he commanded the controlled digimon to surround the boy while his own forces stayed a safe distance away, "The Digimon Tamer is surrounded. Inform Master Piedmon, we've captured the Digimon Tamer."

Two of the Guardromon hurried off while Devimon commanded to the remainders, "The rest of you fan out! Find the Agumon. It will be nearby."

They were so caught up in their capture that they failed to notice the captives quietly sneaking inside the building. Devimon signaled his soldiers to hold so that the digimon controlled by the gears would restrain their capture. As it reasoned, Tamer wouldn't dare harm his own comrades. They took hold of Tamer and restrained, only to be blinded by a sudden flash of light that purged the affected digimon of any gears. With a swift flick of the wrist, his digivice appeared from his sleeve and blinded all of the other digimon. The rest shielded their eyes and fell back in surprise while Agumon called out, "Agumon! Digivolve to! Greymon!"

The sudden increase in size caused him to burst through the side of the building. Greymon charged ahead, trampling over the Mekanorimon and Guardromon in his path while spitting balls of fire all around him. He took care not to step on any friendly digimon as he hurried ahead and scooped up Tamer. The Devimon was the only one with enough sense to get out of Greymon's path and narrowly avoided being crushed under his weight. The few Guardromon and Mekanorimon who didn't happen to be in his way collected themselves and targeted the lumbering dinosaur. Devimon growled, "After them! Don't let them get a-"

Before he could finish his sentence, he was shot in the back by the soldier still watching from inside the building. Devimon burst into data and vanished as the soldier looked on, "That's one way to retake an area."

The survivors started clamoring aboard the vessels and they departed into the sky. Meanwhile, the soldiers went to check on their digimon allies who'd just been freed from the control of the gears. The scene ended there as Kari waved her hand again and continued, "The effectiveness of those two came to the attention of the council. Struck with inspiration, they began a lengthy inquiry into the history of the two. If these two were so effective against the forces of the Dark Masters, thought the council, perhaps they needed to find more like them. Everything was traced all the way back to that single event, that moment in Highton View Terrace. It took them hundreds of years, but they found the world that The Digimon Tamer came from.

Kari waved her hand again and showed them the battle in Highton View Terrace, only this time the flash of light brought them to Myotismon's Castle. They were in a room none of them had ever seen before, filled with incubators housing eggs connected to various machines. Numerous figures in robes meticulously tended to the machines and inspected the eggs carefully as they matured. Connected to each egg was a digivice and hanging off the incubator was a tag holding a crystal.

"Those look just like our crests!" TK said with wonder in his eyes.

"Those are your crests," Wizardmon confirmed, "There's no doubt, those are the digivices, crests, and tags that would one day be yours."

"Yeah, you can see pictures of us right there!" Joe pointed above the incubators, each with a picture of the digidestined at a younger age. Every so often the images would change to the faces of different children before switching back. One of the Agumon cocked their head to the side, "Why does it do that?"

"Of the infinite possible realities that populate existence, did you think they were the only ones who had encounters with digimon? They were simply the ones chosen in this reality. There were others in alternate worlds who were chosen instead," Kari answered seriously. Bukamon patted Joe as a gesture of companionship, "I don't think I'd have wanted anyone else besides Joe to be my partner."

"That's what you always say," Kari stated blankly.

"So is that us as babies?" Lillymon asked, pointing out the eggs. Nyaromon looked at the eggs quietly, "All eight of us are here…so why was I the-"

Before she could finish, the room shook violently and one of the walls collapsed to make way for fifty Guardromon rushing in. A few of the white robed Ancients fell away while the others tried to save their research. The guards charged forward to meet the digimon and a battle broke out. The guards fought bravely, throwing themselves fanatically to save as many as they could but they were overwhelmed simply by how many they were. Even so, they still fought as hard as they could and gave everything they had. Leomon watched the events unfold and anxiously wished he could do something, "This is terrible."

"This is war. The Dark Masters learned of this scheme and set out to stop it," Kari answered. When the last guard had fallen, a new digimon appeared behind the Guardromon. They stepped aside to let the figure through - Piedmon, one of the Dark Masters. He approached the incubators with a wide smile and drew his sword to destroy the eggs.

"STOP!" A voice shouted and a final brave Ancient charged straight ahead with only digivice in hand, "Leave them alone!"

"Hmph, kill him," Piedmon ordered, seemingly unimpressed by the brave if futile display. The Ancient's hood fell down to reveal a boy no older than the children present, and he shined the digivice in their faces to blind them. While the attackers staggered, he smashed his hands hard against the glass to break only to realize it had been reinforced. A Mekanorimon gained enough vision to try and stop him but the boy ducked under its arm and climbed atop. He forced the glass cockpit open and punched the Bakemon piloting it, "Get out!"

"STOP HIM!" Piedmon cried out. The Ancient quickly closed the cockpit shut and took control of the mechanical digimon. It gathered the remaining eggs in its claw and ran as quickly as its short legs would carry it before engines came to life on its back so that it could fly out through the hole in the wall. The Guardromon continued shooting as the boy fled, desperately trying to stop the Mekanorimon before it got too far. Outside, they could see a familiar wasteland layered with a thin fog.

The scene changed again so that they found themselves in the fog, in a trench dug straight through the ground. Hundreds of digimon were charging straight for a castle in the distance as Ancients fought hard to hold them back. Before them, they could see the younger Tamer and Agumon fighting along side the Ancients. In the heat of battle, the two stopped when they heard a boom and looked up to see a lone Mekanorimon fleeing overhead holding several eggs.

Pursuing it were Devidramon, Gigadramon, and Megadramon trying to shoot it out of the sky. One scored a lucky blow and something fell out of its hand. The two jumped out of its path as they saw an egg, a digivice, and a tag with a crest land beside them. The egg shattered into data and the digivice cracked with it, but the crest remained. Overhead, one of the digimon shouted, "Get the crest!"

Tamer snatched it up and quickly hung it over his neck, "Let's go Agumon!"

"What do you think that is?" Agumon asked. Tamer shook his head, "No idea. But if they want it, then we can't let them have it! Come on, let's see what happened."

As the two started retreated back for the castle, the Mekanorimon overhead continued flying away. The scene flew past the digidestined again, following the robot digimon as it was pursued by the armies of Piedmon across the Digital World. They passed over forest, ocean, desert, and grasslands all to follow the fleeing Ancient. Eventually, one more blast managed to hit the Mekanorimon and it dropped another set - an egg, digivice, and crest. The plummeted down into a forest and disappeared beneath the tree.

Nyaromon looked at it glumly, "That's why I was all alone."

"Cheer up! We're together now, aren't we?" Lillymon stroked the cat on the head. She smiled quietly at the Ultimate digimon's assurances and they continued following the target.

The Mekanorimon turned to fire a few shots at its pursuers before speeding across an ocean and towards a tiny island with a single large mountain in the center. Kari explained, "That lone Ancient hid the remaining eggs on File Island. Time passed, the war ended, and the eggs hatched."

"I remember this part! It felt like I waited forever for Sora to arrive!" Garudamon pointed out, watching as seasons changed and the eggs cracked open. Tiny little baby digimon crawled out of the eggs, dragging the digivices along. They chirped and cooed excitedly, bouncing up and down excitedly.

"And for Matt," MetalGarurumon added.

"And Mimi," said Lillymon, "Then one day, you guys just fell from the sky."

The scene faded away as the digivices shot into the sky in beams of light. In the distance, a seventh beam of light joined the six digivices as they flew skyward and disappeared. After a spark of light in the sky above they heard their own familiar screams echoing. It grew louder until they saw themselves plummeting to the ground - Sora, Matt, Mimi, TK, Joe, and Izzy.

The world faded back and that they found themselves again over the massive void that used to be Aca'dehmia. On one side was a vast ocean and on the other side was a massive forest. Above was the Real World and below was nothing. Tamer folded his arms, "That's a nice story. There's just one problem. The war never ended. That's okay though, I wouldn't expect you to get that. So are you going to leave now?"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Questions are answered that have only led to more questions. What happens now? Find out in the next chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure due out next week on Friday October 14th 5 PM. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section, as well as any constructive criticism and guesses you may have on the next chapter. I usually make a point of replying in a day or two, if the site permits me to reply. Guests reviews will be responded to in the next chapter's author's notes and only if they're signed.

And hey, for those of you who play mobile, why not add me on Digimon Heroes? My user name is literally The Tamer. See you guys next week!

Now, onto lines from the next chapter:

"Does anyone else have any other questions?" Kari asked the rest of them.

"Be careful. A lot happened while we were away. They might not be so friendly," Izzy whispered to the others.

"I don't know. Save the Digital World. Go after the Dark Masters. Do whatever, just try not to get yourselves killed in the process."

"It says he's childish and immature, but that he's also dangerous and unpredictable," Izzy recited the contents off the top of his head.

She stood up right away with a determined glint in her eyes, "I have to find him. Nyaromon, can you digivolve to Angewomon?"


	41. Parting Ways

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hello dear readers! Welcome back to another episode of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure. Thanks to all of you who left reviews, as well as those of you favorited and followed the story. And a bigger thanks to Ace Spiritwell for doing the cover art for this story. Give their profile a read and their deviantart a look. Because why not? And how about the latest episodes of Digimon Adventure Tri? I mean, wow, right? Okay, let's get started!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 41: Parting Ways**

Tamer stared deeply into his little sister's eyes, "Are you done now?"

"Does anyone else have any other questions?" Kari asked the rest of them. Izzy raised his hand sheepishly, "Why did they do it? The Dark Masters, why did they do…all this?"

She shook her head, "We don't know. That terrified the Ancients and that terrifies us. Beings with unclear destinies, who's end goal is still a mystery. All that was known was that they were after what the Ancients had - dominion over destiny."

"Well that's helpful," Mimi's voice was full of sarcasm.

"The eight of you are the legacy they left behind, the ones chosen to save the Digital World. The hopes of the innocent digimon, the lives of those in other worlds, rest on your shoulders," Kari informed them. Joe swallowed a lump in his throat, "Great, no pressure."

"Okay, we're done here. Now set us down and leave!" Tamer commanded of the little girl. She stared at him intently, "Age hasn't done much to temper your anger."

"Either help us or get lost!" Tamer snapped at the girl, "Right now, all you're doing is wasting time."

For the first time, Kari's face soured, "Is that what you would call it?"

"Dwelling on the past? Yes! A trip down memory lane is nice but it's sort of distracting when there are four world ending monsters running around. Well, three. You get the idea!" Tamer shouted at the girl.

"They're not the ones who ripped a hole in the fabric of time to alter events in their favor," Kari replied. Izzy scratched his head, "Yeah, I was wondering about that. The most we got was Retcon, but what exactly is Retcon?"

"It was a weapon used by the Ancients during the war. It allowed them to alter the past by circumventing the outcome in a way that maintained the previous events while achieving different end results," Kari answered. She waved her hand again and the events played out for them again, only not how Sora, TK, Joe, Nyaromon, Bukamon, Garudamon, or Patamon remembered. They watched themselves be blown away by Machinedramon, turned to nothing and the rage it brought out of Tamer and WarGreymon. Machinedramon defeated them both and it gave birth to SkullGreymon, all while Kari narrated, "It may not seem obvious, but The Digimon Tamer and SkullGreymon destroyed anyone who would knowingly contradict what they saw before they used the Retcon."

Matt began "But I saw-"

"Nothing. You were too far away," Kari interrupted, "There was only one left alive who could, and he was so crippled that there was no way he could contradict what happened. Machinedramon. They kept him alive for a reason, too. In order for retcon to work, a trade must be made. Something of equal value has to be left in the place of what was taken. The digidestined and their partners were taken, while half of Machinedramon was left behind."

"You mean he changed the past!" Mimi asked calmly before she broke into a full yell, "WHAT THE HELL!? YOU COULD HAVE USED THAT TO SAVE MY MOM! YOU COULD HAVE USED THAT TO SAVE PIXIMON! YOU COULD-"

"I could only use it once. If I was going to use it, it would be for something important. Like making sure the kids whose job is to save reality didn't get blown sky high," Tamer explained, "Or, I'm sorry. Did you think your mother would be able to do something against any of the Dark Masters?"

"You're wasting time arguing. Even now, the Dark Masters are still carrying out their plans," Kari warned them, "I came here to bring you together by showing you just how much was truly at stake. Instead, it seems I've only succeeded in furthering the gap between you."

"Good job with that," Tamer snorted, "Are you done?"

"For now," Kari frowned, "The girl is distraught. She cares so much for her brother. If only you could see who you really are."

"I know who I am," Tamer answered angrily. Kari's frown remained but she nodded before passing out into Sora's arms. Sora put a hand to the girl's head, "Kari!"

"Is she okay?" Nyaromon asked.

"She's fine. Hosting an Ethereal takes a lot of energy. She'll be asleep for a while," Tamer assured them, despite Kari's return to her unconscious state, "Who knows. She may wake up and think the whole experience was just a dream."

* * *

"Well that was a thing," Piedmon spoke bemusedly from the depths of Myotismon's Castle. As the last pieces of Machinedramon's domain vanished, he was left wondering just how long the Digimon Tamer and Agumon had been holding on to the retcon, "Who knew they had that?"

"Machinedramon's dead!" MetalSeadramon roared, "This is stupid. I'm going to take care of them myself if I have to!"

"They're in Puppetmon's territory. You know how he feels about sharing," Piedmon smiled, curious to see what the other Dark Master would say. MetalSeadramon growled in anger, "Like I care what that little pipsqueak wants. He probably hasn't even noticed that they're there! This is a job for me!"

"Mind your limits MetalSeadramon," Piedmon warned the serpent before it departed from the castle. MetalSeadramon should have known better - Puppetmon may be childish but little happened in his domain without his knowledge. And there was little doubt that he wasn't already trying to toy with them. Puppetmon continued to quietly observe, curious to see how the digidestined would fair with two of the Dark Masters actively working against them. Of course, that didn't mean there weren't others out for them.

* * *

The group set down in the forest beside the gap in the Digital World that used to be Aca'dehmia. They were hungry and tired from the day's events so Leomon and some of the Agumon went out to forage for more food while the rest joined Andromon to make sure the area was safe. Sora and Joe lay Kari down beneath a tree to rest as she'd broken out in a fever, with Nyaromon fretting over her. Their digimon partners regressed to their in-rookie forms to sleep from the day's battle. Matt and TK were busy trying to start a fire while Izzy and Mimi went about gathering sticks for them to use. Tamer and Koromon kept their distance from the others though, sitting just at the edge of forest and staring straight across the gap into the ocean. In the distance, moonlight shimmered over the waves and created a glowing water front that made it seem closer than it truly was.

After Mimi and Izzy returned with wood, Izzy went about looking through the database on his laptop. Meanwhile, Mimi joined Sora beside Joe and Kari, "How's she doing?"

Joe cracked a yawn, "Still sleeping. Her fever is gone too."

"And that…thing that was in her is gone?" Mimi asked. Joe shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe? It's not like there's any real way for us to tell. I'll have to ask Tai or Tamer or whatever he's going by."

"I don't think that's such a good idea. He hasn't said a thing since whatever it was left Kari," Sora motioned towards him and how he was still staring out into the void quietly. Mimi looked over towards him guiltily, recalling seeing him like this when he stood over the white stone. Their trip to the past seemed to have brought back some very bad memories for him.

It made her mad. Her mother was dead as were so many others back in the Real World. That knowledge and experiences left her full of grief and anger. Yet it was obvious, even to her, that it all paled before everything she just saw - soldiers fighting for their lives in endless conflicts only to be blinked out of existence in flashes of light while worlds were blown out of the sky above them. All the while, hundreds died screaming just trying to get away from the fighting. They'd only witnessed a few moments, but it was so much longer for them. With their age, who knew how long either of them went through it. It was selfish but she felt so small next to him - it was as if her own feelings didn't matter and that made her mad.

But she considered how close she came to being like him just a few moments ago and took a deep breath. It didn't do any good to be angry at him, nor did dwelling on the frustration. She took another deep breath and tried to take her mind off the subject, "So what's our plan for beating the Dark Masters?"

"I'm looking into that now," Izzy raised his hand without looking away from his screen, "The database that Tamer put in my computer was helpful before, so it should be just as useful now. Like this one on Puppetmon."

He reversed his laptop and showed them the contents of the screen, "It has the usual info like class and level. But it also has tips on how to beat him. They all have this big one in bold that says to run."

"Yeah, that's worked out for us before," Matt snorted from where he was. Wizardmon mused, "It would make sense given how strong they are, but they must have found some ways to fight them."

"It says he's childish and immature, but that he's also dangerous and unpredictable," Izzy recited the contents off the top of his head, "However, he never thinks too far ahead which should make him easy to outsmart if we put our heads together. The problem is that he doesn't act directly and will usually spend more time trying to 'play' with us. We had first hand experience with that when we came back to the Digital World."

"Yeah, that was fun," Joe shivered, thinking back on the ways he had to dance. Matt added, "We just have to make sure he doesn't get the jump on us when we run into him again. And when we do-"

The two sticks he was rubbing together caught fire and he stopped what he was saying to blow into it. TK cheered excitedly while Matt tended the flame and stopped once he was sure it was big enough. He sighed, "When we do run into him again, we'll be sure to blow him away."

"We should still be careful," Izzy warned, "They put 'run' in big letters for a reason."

They stopped talking when Leomon and the Agumon returned with hands full of berries and fruit. At the same time, Andromon returned with his group of Agumon to report back, "The area is secure. No hostiles anywhere in the area."

"Good timing too! We're starving!" one of the Agumon said, grabbing straight from the pile of berries in front of him, "Chow time!"

"Hey! Save some for us!" said another Agumon. Joe woke their digimon so that they could have their fill, but only had to say the word food to get them on their feet. The meal was hardly filling, but it did satiate their hunger for the time being and that was good enough. Neither Kari nor Tamer joined them, one was still asleep while the other was still standing at the edge of the forest to stare off into the gap. Despite knowing that he might want to be alone, Sora still considered that he might want to eat so she went over to ask him.

"Hey…Tai," she began, "We have food if you want some."

"I'm not hungry, but thanks," he said quietly. Koromon was still sleeping in his lap, and he looked down at the little ball with regret. Sora nodded and went to rejoin the rest of the group, "We'll keep some for you if you want it."

"Sora, wait. Could you…stay a minute," Tamer said to her. The girl stopped to look at her friend, unsure of why he'd called out to her. He sounded scared when he spoke, but he looked to be doing everything he could to hide it. She sat down beside him and pulled her knees into her chest, unsure of why he asked her to stay or what to say to him. In her mind, she was still trying to process the fact that she'd died. So was she still the same Sora for this Tamer or was she a different Sora and had Tamer pulled her from another version of the Digital World? Thinking about it made her head hurt and the grumbles of her stomach didn't help.

"Sorry," he began quietly, "You're probably hungry so I'll be quick. I think…it might be too dangerous for you guys to keep fighting. I didn't know why you were chosen, I swear I never did. If what we saw was true, then it's my fault. They tried to make more soldiers like me…so they picked you guys. That's not fair to you. Any of you."

"Tai-"

"I'm not Tai," he interrupted her, extended an open hand towards her, "Give me your digivice."

"Tai let's talk about this," Sora said.

"Digivice," he said again. She was hesitant about giving anything to him because of how unstable he'd been in the last few hours. Because of her hesitation, Tamer reached for her belt and took hold of the digivice but didn't take it. As if he realized what he'd done, he let it go, "Sorry. Go back to the others."

"Why did you want it?" she asked him, placing a hand on the digivice in case he reached for it again. His eyes shifted uneasily, "I was going to sync it to the gate back at Myotismon's Castle. If you guys ever wanted out…to leave…just push the button on your digivice. You and your digimon will be taken back to the Real World. The gate will shut down and seal off the Digital World - that way you guys and your world will be safe from anything that happens here."

"There's no way we'd ever agree to that! We came here to help save the Digital World!" Sora told him, realizing how angry she'd suddenly become.

"You were dead," he replied, "So was Kari, Joe, TK, Nyaromon, Biyomon, Bukamon, and Patamon."

"We knew what we were in for, so what's changed?" Sora asked, "We came here to save the Digital World. Why would we change our minds now?"

"I hoped you wouldn't. If it's all the same to you, I'd like you to at least keep your options open," he admitted, extending his hand out again for her digivice. She hesitated briefly before handing it to him and asking, "What happens now?"

"Now…I set the digivice to open the gate between worlds," Tamer said quietly, motioning for a single button on the side, "Now you can use this button to send you guys and your partners back to your world. It's one way and one use so make sure you use it only if you have too."

"What about you two?" Sora asked him. He sighed, "Koromon and I will be fine. We've been doing this on our own for a hundred thousand years. We know how to keep a low profile."

"Tai, you're acting like we've already decided to go. We haven't. We're staying right here," Sora reminded him. He nodded quietly with a smile, "I wouldn't want anything less. There's one other thing - we'll be leaving when Koromon wakes up."

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"I meant me and Koromon. We'll be leaving on our own," he said quietly, "Looking back at the past like that…brought back a lot of bad memories. I want to be alone right now."

"Tai…the last day has been rough on all of us. Mimi's mom died, dozens of people got killed, you had," she paused to think about the right word for it but realized she had no idea what to call it, "You know. I know you don't exactly get along with the others, but they do care y'know? We all tried to snap you out of it. Heck, Matt and MetalGarurumon even carried you guys away when the city was disappearing. You can talk to us, you know?"

"I don't want to talk about it," he frowned, "I want to be alone."

"Here, let me get the others," she started to leave but Tamer took a hold of her hand, "Don't."

"But-"

"Sora, this isn't something I want to talk about," he said quietly, "Especially not around the others. How am I supposed to talk about all the battles and fighting? How am I supposed to talk about the faces of the dead, the screams of the dying, the worlds that were blown apart - turned to ash in an instant? I don't want to talk about it because it's not something I can talk about, get it?"

His expression became more docile and Sora nodded that she understood. He let her hand go while she asked, "Then what should I tell them when they find out you've left?"

He shrugged and offered her a smile, "The truth? You guys are always trying to get me to be more open and honest."

"Then why not just tell them?"

"You think they won't try to stop me?" he chuckled to himself as if he told a joke that she didn't get, "I'll come back, I just need some time alone. You can tell them when I leave, but please don't say a word until then."

"And Kari? Are you okay with leaving her alone again?" Sora asked. Tamer shook his head, "What do you mean again? I admitted she was important and that I wanted to protect her. That's hardly an admission that she's my sister or that I'm…her brother."

"You saw the same thing I did," Sora pointed out, "It was the mushrooms Tai. You ate-"

"Sora," he said her name the way her parents did whenever they wanted her to stop talking about something. Sora persisted, "Tai, you lost your memories but even you can still feel that Kari is important to you. That's why you care so much."

He stared at her with a blank expression, as if he was analyzing her, "The average human life expectancy is eighty years, approximately. You can get over a hundred if you're incredibly lucky and take care of yourself, but you guys average around eighty. I'm one hundred and five thousand, one hundred and twenty eight years old but I look like a human child. Explain that to me and I'll start to believe you."

"Maybe being in the Digital World affected you somehow! Maybe-"

"Sora," he said more sternly with a look that signaled he was no longer interested in this line of conversation. She tried a different approach, "What about us? What should we do?"

"I don't know. Save the Digital World. Go after the Dark Masters. Do whatever, just try not to get yourselves killed in the process. The others will go along with any ideas you have. If you want my advice, I'd start by trying to figure out where the other digimon are. I see Leomon, Agumon, and Andromon. Where are ShogunGekomon? Gekomon? Otamamon? Meramon? I'd start there."

Sora was disappointed to hear his answer, "And what will you be doing? I mean, the other Dark Masters are still out there and they definitely will try to get you once they find out that you and Koromon are away from the rest of us."

He looked out across the gap between worlds, towards the ocean that was waiting for them on the far side and commented, "Ocean's a big place and the two of us know how to keep a low profile. Maybe I'll find a nice quiet island and clear my head.

"You know you don't have to-"

"I do," he said quietly, "I really do want to be alone for a little bit."

"What happens if we walk into a trap?" she asked him. He shrugged, "You guys will think of something. You'd better go back before the food all disappears. Agumon have really big appetites, y'know?"

She looked at him quietly and opened her mouth a few times to talk, but couldn't find the words to convince him. What could be said to him to convince him to stay? When nothing came to mind, she sighed, "Well, I'm here if you need to talk. We all are."

She dusted herself off to rejoin the others, noting that he didn't reply but went back to staring out into the void in silence. Mimi was the first one to greet her when she came back and handed her some pears, "You took your time. Here, we saved you some. Is he having any?"

"I don't think so," Sora shook her head and took a bite. The pear was a little dry but it was sweet to the taste. The Agumon quickly divided Tamer's share for themselves, "Hooray! More for us!"

"Hey! Save some so that Kari has something to eat!" TK scolded the Agumon before they could eat everything. The Agumon sheepishly started putting back the food

"So what took so long?" Matt asked while he picked at the berries he had at hand. Sora recalled that Tamer didn't want them to know and lied, "I was trying to see how he was doing. He wouldn't say a word to me."

"So what else is new?" Bukamon shrugged, "Man, I'm still hungry."

"I can get some more food," Leomon offered to the little digimon excitedly until Izzy raised his hand, "I think we should get back to coming up with a plan for the Dark Masters. There are still three out there that we have to take care of."

"You guys can do that if you want but I'm beat," Matt stretched his arms over his head, "I'm going to call it a day."

"I'm tired too," Tsunomon yawned, "The food was good. Thanks for dinner!"

"You're welcome," one of the Agumon said.

"Guys! This is important! We really need to come up with a plan!" Izzy urged them only to find the others cracking tired yawns and their digimon joining them. Even his partner Motimon was patting the boy on the shoulder, "We'll leave that all up to you. How's that sound Izzy?"

"We probably should get some rest," Sora agreed with the others, although she wasn't tired. Her conversation with Tamer plagued her mind. She really hoped that he had been opening up more and coming to accept that he was Tai. Maybe it was wrong to think he would be so accepting of the idea after the fact. Yokomon followed along side her partner and joined the girl as she went to rest beside Kari at the base of the tree. Nyaromon had already fallen asleep on the girl and Wizardmon was sitting on the other side of the girl with his hat tipped down to cover his eyes while gently snoring. Yokomon buried her head against Sora's chest and fell asleep in her arms immediately but it took Sora a little while longer. She occasionally stole glances in Tamer's direction while contemplating something to convince him to stay.

In that time, Izzy tried to convince Joe and Bukamon to come up with a plan with him. Leomon chastised the boy by reminding them that no one would be able to carry out any plan if they were tired. Andromon, as the only digimon who didn't truly need to sleep, agreed to stand watch for the others. Matt and TK naturally went to sleep next to each other, while Mimi kept herself warm by the fire. Sleep was encroaching fast on Sora and the world was ready to give out to darkness. She racked her brain for something to say to Tai but was overcome by sleep before she could. Perhaps a good night's rest would help her.

* * *

"TAI! TAI! KOROMON! WHERE DID YOU GO!? TAI!"

Sora jolted awake to the sound of Kari's calls as she ran along the edge of their camp. It was early morning now and it looked like the sun had gone some distance over the horizon but wasn't high into the sky just yet. The fire had long since smoldered to ash and grown cold. While the others were stirred by Kari's cries, Sora rested Yokomon on the ground and hurried to the girl, "Kari! You're alright!"

She immediately threw her arms around Kari and embraced the little girl, happy to see the girl was awake again after everything from yesterday. She put a hand to her head to check her temperature, "Good, your temperature went down."

"I'm fine Sora! Do you know where Tai and Koromon are!? They're gone!" Kari asked worriedly. Sora knew the answer but also knew that Tamer wanted to keep his departure a secret. Although there wasn't any need to keep it a secret now that he was gone, "I'm sorry Kari. He wanted to be alone for a little while."

"Why didn't he say anything?" she asked worriedly and Sora thought about how to explain it to her when even she didn't really get it. The noise she was making awoke Tanemon as she cracked a tired yawn, "What's all the noise about?"

"Yeah! Can't you see we're trying to sleep?" Mimi mumbled. Kari ran back to them, "It's Tai! He's gone! And so's Koromon!"

"Gone? What are you talking about?" Izzy scratched at his eyes and looked around in disbelief. Tamer and Koromon were both gone. The realization hit them at the same time but Tsunomon was the first to say it, "Oh man, they disappeared on us!"

"Did you see where they went?" Kari asked Sora, panicked about her vanished older brother again. Sora shook hear head and could only offer the girl a girl a frown. He's said something about going off into the ocean but that was a big place and he really could have been anywhere. Thankfully, she was saved by Andromon, "Yes. Both The Digimon Tamer and Agumon departed two hours ago for the other side of the gap."

He pointed straight across the chasm for the ocean that awaited on the other side. Upset, the girl asked the robot, "Why didn't you wake us! Why didn't you say anything!?"

"Per prime directive, all orders issued by The Digimon Tamer are to be followed implicitly," Andromon rattled off as if he'd recited it a dozen times, "He asked to be allowed to leave without disturbing you. As such, none of you were awoken."

Kari frowned and hung her head, "I don't get it. He just came back. Why would he leave again?"

"Don't cry Kari," Nyaromon said to her partner, looking up at her from her feet, "You know he cares about you. He even went out of his way to get you medicine when you passed out from being sick yesterday!"

"He could have at least said good bye," Kari mumbled, shrinking down so that she could bury her face into her knees. Sora placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, when the sniffling started. Sora was unsure of what to say to her so Kari started, "Hey Sora. I had a dream. It was weird but…it felt real. Did we…go back in time?"

"Sort of. It was really weird," Sora replied, recalling Kari's possession by whatever it was that had taken hold of her. She nodded, "So…the part of the dream where Tai ate the mushrooms and lost all his memories. That happened?"

Again, Sora nodded, "Yeah. We all saw that part."

She stood up right away with a determined glint in her eyes, "I have to find him. Nyaromon, can you digivolve to Angewomon?"

"Yeah, but do you think that's such a good idea?" Nyaromon asked her partner, "I mean. He left without saying anything. I did that a lot when I was still with Myotismon, and I always did that when I wanted to be alone for a little while. Wizardmon was always the one who came looking for me and that always annoyed me when he did."

"It's true," Wizardmon nodded, "Whenever I went after her, she'd always beat me to within an inch of my life."

"Really? Why would you do that? I thought you were friends," Patamon commented aloud. Mimi muttered something about boys being dense while Nyaromon explained, "Sometimes I'd have a lot on my mind and I'd like to be alone to deal with it. Besides, digimon like Myotismon and his army aren't exactly the type who like to get emotional around others."

"He wanted to be alone, Kari," Sora admitted quietly, "Let's just give him his space."

The mood went quiet after that and the digimon went about getting breakfast ready. Once again, Leomon and a few of the Agumon went out to gather something to eat while Andromon took the others to scout out the area. After a quick breakfast Izzy reopened his laptop, "I think now would be a good time for us to sit down and seriously think about how we want to defeat the remaining Dark Masters."

"But I want to find Tai!" Kari interrupted. Joe patted the girl's head, "I know how you feel but there's no point in trying to bring him back if he doesn't want to. It'd be better to wait for him to come back when he's ready."

"Getting back on subject," Izzy turned his laptop around to face them. It showed three images on its screen, each of one of the remaining Dark Masters - Piedmon, Puppetmon, and MetalSeadramon. He went on, "After reviewing the data, I think it's safe to say that we'd be going in way over our heads if we were to attempt to take them all alone. Heck, they have 'RUN' in big letters on each of their data files. I think the best approach would be to fight them one at a time. There's Puppetmon who's listed as childish, immature, and unpredictable. MetalSeadramon is cruel, vindictive, and violent. Piedmon is manipulative, theatrical, and has 'a screw lose'. Each of them has their own domain that they rule over - MetalSeadramon has the ocean, Puppetmon has the forest, and Piedmon has the dark areas."

"But Tai and Koromon went out into the ocean by themselves!" Kari gasped.

"I think those two have shown that they can take care of themselves better than any of us could," Izzy reasoned, "Since we're in the forest, I think we should concentrate on Puppetmon."

"Puppetmon won't be an easy enemy to face. His favorite tactic is to take control of others and manipulate them into fighting each other," Leomon said to them. Izzy nodded, "I agree which is why we'll need to come up with something to counter it."

"Well he's childish, right? Let's just use that, y'know. Poke fun at him and make him mad," Matt suggested, "Tease him. That should throw him off."

"Yeah, or make him want to kill us," Tsunomon pointed out. Izzy went through the data on his laptop, "Actually, Matt might be on to something. It says he's mentally around five or six years old which means he should be easy to distract if we keep his attention on something else long enough - we could lure him into a trap!"

"Like when we used to give TK fruit mixed in with his candies," Matt thought aloud, "He'd get so distracted by all the sweets that he wouldn't even notice the fruit in there."

"You really did that?" TK asked angrily, "Boy, Remind me not to take candy from you again."

"If if can work on TK, then why not Puppetmon?" Patamon nodded happily. TK sighed, "Not you too Patamon."

Before either of them could discuss it further, they heard rustling within the bushes around them. Everyone stood up at once and reached for their digivices. Their digimon ran ahead with the Agumon to protect them from whatever was out there. Izzy closed his laptop and asked, "Andromon, do you see anything?"

"Affirmative," Andromon answered and raised his weapons to attack, "Two dozen targets entering the area, no hostiles detected."

It was a group of Gekomon and Otamamon that came out of the bushes holding spears. There were twenty four in total and they quickly encircled the group with their weapons out. Matt relaxed on seeing them, "Hey! It's the Gekomon!"

"Be careful. A lot happened while we were away. They might not be so friendly," Izzy whispered to the others, vaguely remembering what the Agumon had told them about the distrust between groups. The lead Gekomon raised its spear, "You guys have a lot of nerve coming back here."

"We don't want any trouble," Leomon kept a hand on his sword as he stared down the Gekomon. It answered, "Just give us the digidestined, and there won't be."

"What? Why do you want us?" Yokomon asked.

"Isn't it obvious? They've taken you prisoner and we're here to rescue you!" the Gekomon answered with its spear raised. Leomon drew his sword against the Gekomon, "That's where you're wrong. They're not out prisoners. They're here of their own free will."

"Then that can only mean that you haven't told them what you did," the Gekomon raised its spear. Leomon growled, "That was a misunderstanding!"

Sora panicked, "What don't we know?"

"I knew it! You didn't tell them," the Gekomon accused, "That's what I thought. Digidestined, come with us for your own safety!"

"They aren't going anywhere," Leomon raised his blade, "Not with you."

"If you won't give us the digidestined, then we'll take them by force! Attack!" the Gekomon shouted at his compatriots and they charged.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** The digidestined have met old friends, and they're not friendly. Will they be able to get them to stop fighting? Will they be okay without Agumon and The Tamer? Find out on the next chapter of The Tamer - A Digimon Adventure, due out in two weeks on Friday October 28th 5 PM CST. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome any constructive criticism and guesses you may have on the next chapter. I usually make a point of replying in a day or two, if the site permits me to reply. Guests reviews will be responded to in the next chapter's author's notes and only if they're signed.

Now for previews of the next chapter:

"I'm Kari, Kari Kamiya. I need to find my brother Tai. Everyone else calls him The Digimon Tamer for some reason," she answered

The revelation hit ShogunGekomon and Centarumon like a ton of bricks, "He has a sister?"

"I don't like this. Does anyone else think there's something a little fishy about this?" Matt said.

"Well, they're fighting over us right?" Sora began.

"It is literally the best idea that we have," Gomamon said with more pride than he should have.


	42. Divided We Fall

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hello gentle reader! Welcome back for another installment of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure. Thank you to everyone who left reviews and to those of you who favorited/followed the story! We wouldn't have come this far without all your support. Special thanks go out to Ace Spiritwell for producing the cover art for the fanfiction, and to BelenDigievolution for all the fanart they make. Check those two out over at deviantart and here on fanfiction. There are also links on my profile to their respective art. I don't have much else to say so let's start the story!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 42: Divided We Fall**

Everything spiraled downhill so quickly that the digidestined could only watch events unfold. The Gekomon, Otamamon, Agumon, Leomon, and Andromon all clashed with each other. Their own digimon digivolved to the rookie level to try and break up the fighting but it was obvious that the two sides were too committed to destroying the other. Palmon used her vines to split the two sides from each other but couldn't hold them all for long. They briefly considered digivolving to the champion level to help sort it out, but decided that would only make things worse since it would look like they were trying to join the fight. In the end, the digidestined and their digimon were forced off to the side of the skirmish between the digimon.

"Wow, look at them go," Gabumon said while watching the two sides try to tear each other apart.

"This is awful! We need them to stop fighting each other," Joe said. Izzy nodded in agreement, "Yeah, but how? I don't think they're even listening to us anymore."

"Well, they're fighting over us right?" Sora began. Biyomon looked at her partner with worry over what might be going through her head, "Sora, what are you thinking?"

"They both want us, so…"

Without another word, she ran straight ahead towards an Agumon and a Gekomon who were charging each other with their weapons raised for the attack. Sora leapt in the middle of them with her arms spread out, "STOP!"

"SORA!" Biyomon cried out to her partner. The others had to close their eyes as they were unable to watch it happen. The Agumon and the Gekomon realized what was happening one second too late. It seemed like she'd be impaled by Agumon's claws and the Gekomon's spear until Palmon used her vines to push her down.

Gabumon and Biyomon ran out to protect the girl, and the bird chastised her, "What were you thinking Sora?"

"I thought I might be able to get them to stop if I was standing in the middle," Sora explained dumbly. She watched the Agumon and the Gekomon grow furious with the other, "You almost hurt one of the digidestined!"

"No! It was you! Because you were being stubborn, she tried to jump in the way to stop us!"

"Only because you were taking them against their will!"

"If it's against their will, then why'd she try to stop us!"

"Stop fighting!" Sora pleaded with the two only for them to go at each other again. It would do them no good to stand in the middle of this mess, so they ran back to the sidelines to rejoin the others. TK frowned, "Why won't they stop fighting?"

"A lot happened while we were away," Wizardmon offered, explaining to them everything that they were told by the Agumon - including the fighting against the Dark Masters and the eventual infighting within their group as distrust grew. Joe covered his face with hand, "Okay, so the guys who are on our side are now trying to kill each other and have plenty of reason to do so. Anyone have any ideas on how to cool them down."

"We need them to talk to each other," Izzy said as they watched the two sides clash with each other.

"And how do we do that?" Tentomon asked as an Agumon flew over their heads and landed behind them with a thump. It dusted itself off and growled as it ran back to rejoin the fight. Tentomon added, "It looks to me like they don't want to talk."

"I know there were some problems when we left but I didn't think they'd get this bad," Gomamon added. At that moment, they all heard a hushed voice calling out to them from behind. They turned around to see a Numemon waving at them from behind some bushes and beckoning them to come closer. It pressed a finger to its lips to be quiet and continued waving them over.

"Numemon. We don't really have the best luck with Numemon," Biyomon recalled their encounter with Cockatrimon and the statues everyone turned into. Sora nodded quietly, "Yeah, anyone got any salt?"

"Whatever happened to Cockatrimon, anyway?" A little white puppy with long floppy ears asked the digidestined curiously, "Last time I'd heard, Master...I mean Myotismon sent him after you guys."

Everyone glanced down at the little creature and was taken aback instantly by how adorable it was. Kari cocked her head to the side and asked, "Nyaromon?"

"It's Salamon now," she answered cheerily, resulting in Matt's comment, "Wow."

"What?"

"It's just...well, you're cute," Joe said bluntly, "And it's you. It's...weird."

"Hey!" Salamon took offense and snarled, but even that was adorable. Her big round eyes completely overshadowed the glare on her face. Wizardmon patted his friend's head, "Ignore them. So what happened to Cockatrimon."

While Sora caught them up to speed, Palmon was already approaching the Numemon with a big smile, "Come on guys. There's no reason to think it knows Cockatrimon. It could be a different Numemon."

It pressed a slimy finger to its lips, "Come with me. It's not safe."

"Where are we going?" Palmon asked the little slug. It peered past her at the digimon that were fighting and sighed, "Away from them. You can't trust them. Any of them."

"What do you mean? Leomon and the others are our friends," Palmon asked the Numemon who could only shift his eyes from one side to another, "I can't tell you. Come with me and I'll take you to someone who can."

"I don't like this. Does anyone else think there's something a little fishy about this?" Matt said to the other's agreement. None of them anticipated what would happen next. While they were busy talking, the digimon in the heat of battle realized that their fighting was deadlocked. Leomon and Andromon may have been more powerful, but the Gekomon had the numbers on their side. So they decided to retreat. Each side grabbed as many of the digidestined and their digimon as they could before fleeing from each other.

The Agumon took Sora, Biyomon, Mimi, Palmon, TK, Patamon, and Wizardmon. The Gekomon grabbed Matt, Gabumon, Izzy, Tentomon, Joe, Gomamon, Kari, and Salamon. The two sides called for each other but no one was louder than Matt and TK - the two brothers screaming for each other. Neither of them could do anything as the digimon were shouting too loudly over each other, "Get back to Lord ShogunGekomon!"

"Fall back for now!" Leomon commanded to the other digimon, "We'll save the others later."

"TK!"

"MATT!"

The two brothers called for each other as loudly as they could until their voices faded out into the forest. TK struggled against the Agumon holding him, "WAIT! GO BACK! WE HAVE TO GET MATT!"

"No time," the Agumon answered, "We'll have to rescue them later if we can."

"Put us down! We'll go back and save them ourselves if we have too!" Mimi shouted at the Agumon as they continued running into the forest, "Let us go!"

The digimon ignored their pleas until Biyomon had enough and pecked the Agumon holding her with her beak, "LET GO!"

"Oof!" the Agumon dropped Biyomon and massaged his head, "Ow! What was that for!? We're trying to help!"

"And good job with that. They took our friends and my big brother!" TK's sarcasm took them all by surprise. Leomon raised his hand to signal their stop and everyone was put down. Biyomon dusted herself off, "It's about time!"

"Okay, now let's go back so we can save our friends," Sora demanded.

"They're with ShogunGekomon now," Leomon explained, "It'd be dangerous for us to get near there. We don't exactly get along."

"Yeah, we noticed," Tentomon added, "But we're not leaving them."

Leomon looked in the direction they'd come and sighed, "I promise that we'll go back to save them. For now, let's focus on putting distance between us and them. The Gekomon have a camp in the forest region of Spiral Mountain. It'd be best for us to move far from our camp before we attempt any sort of rescue."

"Rescue? Leomon! The Gekomon are our friends!" Palmon snapped at the lion.

"They are not our friends, and haven't been for a long time," Leomon gestured to himself, Andromon, and the Agumon. Wizardmon adjusted his hat on his head, "Yes, we have a brief understanding of the history that you share with the Gekomon. This does not affect my loyalties to Salamon, and I shall be leaving to find her."

"How will you do that without knowing where their camp is?" Leomon asked. Wizardmon shrugged, "I'll do what The Digimon Tamer and Agumon do. Wing it."

He snapped his fingers and produced a gust of wind that blew leaves off the branches of the surrounding trees. The leaves danced around him and he vanished in an instant as the gust slowed. As impressive as the feat was, the digidestined were peeved at being left behind so quickly. Biyomon sighed, "I wonder who's worse. Him or Tamer and Agumon."

"I think it's Tamer and Agumon. Wizardmon at least told everyone he was leaving," Andromon said sarcastically to the surprise of others. One of the Agumon patted the robot, "Who knew? You can have an attitude."

"Behavior protocols are in effect when Tamer is present, not when he's absent," Andromon said matter of factly, "We should continue our retreat until we can secure a perimeter."

"Once we set up camp, I promise that we can start to scout ShogunGekomon's forces," Leomon swore to the digidestined. They didn't like it but they had to agree, there was no way for them to know where to look without Leomon's help.

* * *

Matt wrestled against the two Gekomon who were carrying him through the forest, "Put me down! My brother-"

"Is in serious trouble if he's with Leomon. We're sorry. We really tried to save him but there's nothing we could do. Leomon and his 'Freedom Fighters' were always stubborn," the lead Gekomon apologized. This didn't stop any of them from flailing, as Matt answered, "Yeah, we sure needed saving after they gave us food and helped us."

"What is going on?" Kari shouted, "First Tai, now this!? Stop it! Put me down!"

Kari was deceptively strong for her age and was able to squirm free from the Gekomon holding, though it probably helped that she kicked its groin while she was flailing. The Gekomon cupped its groin and rolled on the ground, "What was that for? That hurt!"

The other Gekomon stopped and put the digidestined down while the lead Gekomon asked, "You kick us after we saved you? Geez, you guys are just as bad as when you left. After we went through all that trouble too."

Izzy went to Kari's defense, "I think there's been a serious misunderstanding. We didn't need saving. Leomon, Andromon, and the Agumon were helping us. We tried to get you guys to stop fighting, but you kidnapped us before we could."

"It may have looked like they were helping you but, trust us, they weren't," the grumpy Gekomon explained, "Why else would Leomon and the Agumon not want to hand you guys over?"

"Maybe because you showed up with spears," Gomamon commented, nodding at the pointed sticks in their hands, "Attacking probably didn't help."

"Oh sure, blame us," the Gekomon scoffed, shaking its spear in frustration, "Hey, here's a question. If Leomon is in the right, then why didn't he bring you to us? I mean, you'd think someone like him would want to unite everyone so that we can fight the Dark Masters. Instead, he just wants to run and hide - it's no wonder the Dark Masters turned the Digital World into this…mountain!"

Everyone but Kari and Salamon was able to guess who this Gekomon was. The grumpy one who went off on them after the rescue from the Coliseum. His anger seemed tempered with time - it was still there but he wasn't snapping at everyone as readily as when they'd last left them. However his words still carried the same degree of frustration that he always had.

"What did Leomon do anyway?" Joe asked while adjusting his glasses. The Gekomon shook his head, "I can't tell you here. It's not safe. Wait until we get back to Lord ShogunGekomon's Camp."

The Gekomon led them through the forest, deeper into the secluded wood until they came upon a large clearing where the digimon had set up their base. Tents were pitched in a circular pattern around a large campfire where many Gekomon, Otamamon, Gotsumon, Biyomon and Frigimon rested. Standing guard at the entrance were Centarumon and Meramon who hurried to meet them, "You've made it back!"

A hush fell over the entire camp as the announcement was made. In an instant, the digidestined and their digimon were swarmed by the excited digimon of the camp, "You're here!"

"You've come back!"

"The digidestined! They're here!"

"We're saved! We can finally beat the Dark Masters!"

The smaller digimon jumped onto them to give hugs while the larger ones would bow or wave excitedly. Amidst all this, the lead Gekomon spoke to Centarumon, "Yeah, but not with all of the digidestined. Leomon and his 'freedom fighters' took the rest. We rescued who we could. We'll have to search the forest again to find Leomon."

"That will have to wait until we free the digimon in Etemon's Camp," Centarumon nodded, "But you should rest for now. All of you."

The Gekomon nodded and motioned for the digimon in his group to take a break. They scattered throughout the camp to either help themselves to some food or take a nap. Centarumon greeted the digidestined and the digimon stepped aside to let him through, "It has been a long time digidestined. It's good to see you again. All of you."

"It's good to see you too Centarumon," Izzy bowed, "I'm happy to see you're all okay."

"Not all of us. There were others but time and war has taken its toll. Many have died in your absence but you're here now which offers us some glimmer of hope," Centarumon replied quietly, as he motioned for them to follow, "Come with us. Lord ShogunGekomon will want to see you right away."

He and Meramon guided the digidestined around the camp and they took note of the number of tents. There were more of those than there were digimon at the camp, but they showed signs of use. It wasn't hard to figure out that they must've belonged to those digimon who perished in their absence and the sheer number was daunting - the reminder of the toll their absence took on the Digital World.

They were taken into a large tent on the farthest edge of the camp, a darkened place illuminated only by the glow of Meramon's body. Within rested only one digimon - the large form of Lord ShogunGekomon. His chest rose and fell slowly with each breath while his eyes occasionally flickered open before falling back to sleep. Gabumon was the first one to say what they were all thinking, "Don't tell us he's sleeping again."

"Yes, though by choice. He over exerted himself in his last clash with MetalEtemon and needs to rest," Centarumon explained, trotting up to the large orange digimon. ShogunGekomon continued dozing, undisturbed by their arrival or the noise they were making. It almost seemed liked he hadn't noticed they were present. Izzy pointed out, "But Sora and Garudamon defeated Etemon!"

"Yeah, we were all there. We saw it for ourselves!" Gabumon added.

Centarumon went on in a hush, "We launched the rescue mission based on that. We thought we'd try liberating the camps but we were mistaken to try. Something happened before we could get close - the dark network came to life and assaulted us. It should have been dead without Etemon to control it, but it was deliberate in its defense. We pushed on but the dark network pushed back harder until we retreated. Even that wasn't enough, it chased us. As we fled, we heard laughter and the unmistakable voice of Etemon. He introduced himself with his…usual flare as MetalEtemon. That was when Lord ShogunGekomon stood his ground to buy the rest of us time to make our escape. He caught up with us later but his injuries were serious and he collapsed from exhaustion."

"You said MetalEtemon," Izzy retrieved his laptop again, "Let's see what the database has to say about that. Here it is: MetalEtemon, Mega Level, Digivolution of Etemon, Nature Spirit and Metal Empire Families."

"Great, so Etemon's back and now he's stronger than ever," Gabumon sighed. Joe scratched his head, "It was bad enough when all we had to worry about was the Dark Masters."

"It's something that will be hard for us to beat on our own. We have to find the others. Besides, I'm worried about TK," Matt looked back out the entrance of the tent and thought about his brother out there with the others. Kari was having similar thoughts and added, "And Tai! We have to find Tai too."

"If we're going after MetalEtemon, then having Tamer and Agumon around will definitely help us," Salamon agreed, "Etemon was strong enough on his own that even Myotismon kept his distance."

"Wait, Myotismon was afraid of Etemon!? You're kidding," Gomamon gasped in surprise. Salamon paused before answering, as if she was uncertain of her own words, "No. It's more like he was cautious. Etemon was always doing his own thing and only bothered with anything if it distracted him from his 'music career' - but he was the only one who called it that. Anyway, that always made him a wild card to Myotismon - someone who was hard to predict. In that way, Myotismon looked at him the same way he looked at Agumon and Tamer."

"Yeah, I think we need to find the others," Matt clasped his hands together. Centarumon disapproved, "If they're with Leomon, it'd be better to go with everyone else. For now, I would suggest that you rest and recover."

"We're already rested. Besides, the sooner we find them, the sooner we can get you guys to stop fighting each other," Izzy nodded. Reminded of the forgotten fact, Tentomon asked, "Thats right. Why are you guys fighting anyway. We got the gist of it from the Agumon but how did things get this bad? You guys practically attacked each other as soon as you said hello!"

"It was more of a 'You guys!', but who knows," Gomamon sighed.

"I shall have Lord ShogunGekomon tell you himself," Centarumon nudged the sleeping giant softly, then with more force when he didn't stir. The orange digimon shook awake with a grunt and cracked open his jaw, "I'm awake. Is something wrong Centarumon?"

"The digidestined are here," Centarumon said. ShogunGekomon jolted awake at that, "Are they? Where are...ah. I see. It's good to see you...most of you. Centarumon, weren't there supposed to be seven of them? Or was it eight?"

"The others are with Leomon," Gabumon answered. ShogunGekomon growled at the name and everyone took a step back in fright, "That no good traitor has the others? We have to find them immediately!"

He forced himself onto his legs and wobbled as they adjusted to his weight, "Get the digimon. We rescue them now."

Human and digimon alike looked to each other with uncertainty, expecting someone else to ask the enraged digimon why he was so upset. Kari was the only who would, "Um...Mr. ShogunGekomon sir, why are you so mad at Leomon? What did he do?"

ShogunGekomon eyed the girl curiously but his mood became less intense, "Oh, you're new. Who are you?"

"I'm Kari, Kari Kamiya. I need to find my brother Tai. Everyone else calls him The Digimon Tamer for some reason," she answered, somehow unintimidated by ShogunGekomon's massive size. The revelation hit ShogunGekomon and Centarumon like a ton of bricks and both spoke with the same astonished cry, "He has a sister?"

"That can't be right," ShogunGekomon eyed her more suspiciously. The fiery Meramon approached the little girl and inspected her carefully. She stepped away, sweating from the heat of the flames, but Salamon took it as a threat and bounced into his way, "Leave Kari alone."

"Sorry," Meramon apologized and stepped away, "I was just thinking about how similar she looks to him. There is a vague resemblance in the hair color. Her temperament is more docile though."

"I don't see it," ShogunGekomon frowned, still eyeing the girl curiously. Growing impatient Matt stepped in, "Can we get back to the part about what Leomon did that was so bad?"

Gabumon latched on to his partner's arm and tried to calm him, feeling the tension going through the boy's body, "Relax Matt."

"I'm trying. But I'm worried about the others, especially TK," Matt breathed. ShogunGekomon grunted, "They call him a brave warrior but he is neither brave nor a warrior. He's a cowardly traitor! There were plenty of times when we fought the Dark Masters and could have won. Instead we lost because he would falter. The more we lost, the clearer it became that it was because of his hesitation. However, he suspected something else - a traitor among us. I had some of my closest servants look into the matter but we couldn't prove anything. During our last attack on Puppetmon's 'playhouse' Leomon turned on our own. He attacked a group of Gekomon but I was there to save them. The Agumon who remained loyal to him fled with him to safety. For years we fought along side each other and it turns out that our greatest danger was right beside us all along."

"That doesn't sound like Leomon," Izzy crossed his arms in disbelief. The others nodded their agreement but Centarumon affirmed it, "I saw it for myself. He attacked the Gekomon without provocation. And if the others are with him, then they're in serious trouble."

"I'll have teams out looking for them. Why not rest in the camp and have some food?" Centarumon proposed to them. ShogunGekomon bid them well before falling back to sleep while the centaur guided them back out into the main camp. Izzy huddled the digidestined together so they could whisper among themselves, "What do you guys think?"

"Something's up. That story about Leomon can't be right. After everything he did to help us on File Island, there's no way he'd start fighting other digimon for no reason," Gomamon made his case quietly. Joe mulled quietly and proposed, "Maybe there's another Black Gear in him? We've seen it before."

"I don't think so. He's not as mindless or violent as he was when he was under control of a black gear," Izzy considered, putting a hand on his chin. Tentomon chirped, "And we defeated Devimon! Unless...you don't think he's back do you?"

"Doubt it. Plus the mood around here is really…down, y'know?" Matt sighed as he looked around the camp. Now that he'd pointed it out, the others realized that the camp had a sullen atmosphere to it - the digimon seemed tired and depressed, bringing back memories of Koromon Village. It was something that none of them ever wanted to experience again. In the midst of the camp, the grumpy Gekomon had gathered a group of other digimon around and was trying to convince them to not lose heart in spite of everything that happened recently. They had the digidestined now which meant they had an edge over the Dark Masters.

The digimon murmured excitedly but the excitement was restrained, curtailed to be less optimistic after years of being brow beaten. The Gekomon cautioned them to be careful but also to fight harder knowing that victory was so close at hand. As they walked past, Gomamon commented, "He really knows how to make people listen to him."

"Yeah, he does," Matt crossed his arms, "It makes you wonder who's calling the shots around here."

"What are you thinking Matt?" Izzy asked. Matt scratched the back of his head, "Just a hunch, but I don't want to say anything just yet. I'll tell you guys later."

Centarumon left them around the campfire where they helped themselves to some of the berries and water that the camp had foraged on. Thankfully, the camp was better supplied than Leomon's Freedom Fighters as they had fresh meat to cook with the berries and fruits. None of the digidestined had an appetite though as they were too busy worrying for the others. After eating in total silence for the longest time, Gomamon gave in, "Okay Matt. What are you thinking. I really want to know!"

"I was just thinking. Leomon attacked a bunch of Gekomon right? Well, ShogunGekomon said that there might have been a traitor in their group. But what if there were more than one traitor? Maybe that's why Leomon did what he did," Matt said quietly, "It's just a thought."

"We'd need proof. ShogunGekomon doesn't look like he's going to listen to that without proof," Joe pointed out, "But how are we going to get that?"

"First, we need to find the others and get Leomon's version of the story," Tentomon answered. Izzy raised his digivice, "It's a good thing I kept my digivice on this search mode. It says that there are other signals that way - which means your little brother is there."

"Great! Let's go tell ShogunGekomon," Gabumon was ready to leave until Joe grabbed hold of him, "Wait. If we do that, then all we'll accomplish is getting these guys to start fighting again. Think about it, ShogunGekomon would just march everyone over there. It'd be better if only two of us go. The rest of us can stall and buy time."

"Okay, and what are we going to tell them?" Salamon asked, "It has to be something that would take a long time and wouldn't be too suspicious."

"Just say he has diarrhea," Kari chimed in excitedly. Her suggestion embarrassed the others while she went on, "If it's really bad, then you'll be away for a while and no one's going to go looking."

"I'm not okay with that," Gomamon frowned. Izzy dismissed it and agreed to the other's surprise, "That could work. If it's bad enough, one of us can be gone for a while and no one would ask questions."

"Yeah but who wants to say they have…" Matt trailed off before he could finish that sentence so Kari said it for him, "Diarrhea."

"I vote Matt and Gabumon," Izzy said, "Since he can digivolve to Garurumon, you two can move faster without being noticed."

"What? Why do I have to be the one with diarrhea!?" Matt protested, "Kabuterimon is faster than Garurumon. Remember the race?"

"We all remember but they'll spot Kabuterimon the moment he starts flying away. It'd be better if you go," Izzy pointed out. Matt felt a bead of sweat run down the side of his face and grumbled, "Okay. Just promise that you won't use the diarrhea excuse."

"It is literally the best idea that we have," Salamon said with more pride in her partner than she should have. Matt turned to Izzy, "Come on. You're the smart guy Izzy. Help me out."

Izzy put a hand to his chest and gave it some thought before admitting, "I don't have anything."

"Thanks a lot," Matt said sarcastically and retrieved his digivice, "How do I do this again?"

"Detect Mode. Option two. It's this button," Izzy pushed the button on the digivice. They all did the same and activated their digivices, observing the four dots that marked them and the three that marked the others. Kari glimpsed the screen and frowned, "I don't see Tai on here."

"We don't know how far the range on these are. He could be thousands of miles away," Izzy said, bringing concern to Kari's eyes. Both Matt and Tentomon elbowed the poor boy and he apologized, "Sorry."

"I wish he was here," Kari mumbled. Gomamon sighed, "Well he's not so it's up to us to fix this mess."

They waited until later in the evening so that they could use the cover of night to help Matt and Gabumon's escape. At the agreed time, Matt and Gabumon sprinted into the woods to the surprise of the other digimon in the camp. One of the Yokomon who witnessed the whole thjng asked the digidestined, "What's up with them?"

"They have diarrhea," Kari said cheerily, to the disgust of the digimon present. Only the Yokomon remained amused, "It must have been the berries. Yeah, they weren't so good on us the first time we came out here. We tried to avoid picking them but they look so much like all the other berries that a few get through. Your friends will be out a while. Maybe we should go help."

"I don't think that's such a good idea. You know how people can be about their privacy," Joe pointed out for the Yokomon. It nodded, "You're right, I didn't think about thay. Make sure he drinks plenty of water, or else he'll get sick."

In the forest, Matt and Gabumon counted their steps to make sure they were a good distance away before attempting to digivolve. They had to make sure the light of the digivolution wasn't noticeable, otherwise they risked being noticed. But they were noticed by a small group of Gekomon who were patrolling the area around the camp in case any of the Dark Masters or their digimon showed up. They watched Gabumon digivolve to Garurumon and carry the boy off into the forest. The lead Gekomon signaled to them to follow the digidestined. They had no clue why a digidestined would suddenly wander off into the night, but the fact that they did so far from camp was suspicious.

* * *

Matt and Garurumon hurried through the forest as fast as they could in the direction of the others. Occasionally, Matt would check the digivice to make sure they were going in the correct direction and would have Garurumon change course as they had to. They traveled over hills and across rivers deep in the wood until they came upon a large tree with cherries hanging from the high branches. Garurumon slid to a stop as the tree stood up off its roots to face them, revealing a face dug into the trunk - holes with tiny dots of light where its should have been and a small bush in the shape of a mustache. It had four arms made of branches with twig like fingers that curled around a broken off piece of wood that it used as a can, "Who's there? Oh, a human. I haven't seen a human before. Welcome to my forest. I am Cherrymon."

"Hi," Matt greeted quietly, "Sorry. We're kinda in a rush so if you don't mind, we'll be going."

Garurumon tried to get around the large tree but it asked, "And where are you off to in such a hurry?"

"Trying to find our friends," Garurumon answered, "Now please get out of our way."

"That's no way to talk to your elders. You kids these days are always in such a rush, it's no wonder the Digital World is in the state it's in. That's none of my business, though I'd advise you to be careful. There are some dangerous digimon around and I hear they're going after kids like you, not that it's any of my concern."

"Thanks for the warning," Matt grew impatient with the tree blocking their path, "Now if you don't mind, we really need to get going."

"Sure thing," Cherrymon stepped aside to let the past, "Just be careful of the one who changes his face. He can't be trusted."

Matt's curiosity was peaked and he patted his partner to stop, "Hold up Garurumon. Who's the one who changes his face?"

"A digimon named DemiDevimon. He's been manipulating digimon for a long time. It's anyone's guess what he looks like now," Cherrymon explained while toying with his cane, "Be wary of those you trust. It could be DemiDevimon in disguise."

"If that's true, then how do we know that you're not DemiDevimon?" Garurumon growled, "You could be trying to trick us right now."

"If I was DemiDevimon, why would I tell you my own plan?" Cherrymon retorted with a snort. Matt shifted nervously atop Garurumon, "You know what? This is confusing, let's just go."

"Yeah, this guy is shady too," Garurumon added. Before Cherrymon could answer, the two were off again in search of the other digidestined. While they disappeared, Cherrymon took note of several other digimon arriving - a group of Gekomon with their weapons out, "Cherrymon. What are you doing talking to those two?"

"Oh, spreading suspicion and confusion," Cherrymon answered, "What about you?"

"Tracking the digidestined. What does a servant of the Dark Masters have to tell a digidestined?" the Gekomon asked. Cherrymon chuckled, "You know I can't tell you that around others."

"Oh right," the Gekomon nodded. It spun the spear in its hand and used it to strike down the other Gekomon with it. The forest filled with screams as they were taken by surprise and finished off quickly, "Right now that that's taken care of, what's the plan?"

"Well, we've already turned the digimon on each other. Why not spread some suspicion in the digidestined too?" Cherrymon laughed. The Gekomon laughed with the Cherrymon, "Oh I get it. Okay, I'll head back and tell them we were ambushed by that digidestined. Let's see how ShogunGekomon reacts to the digidestined attacking his own."

"You've gotten good at this," Cherrymon observed of the Gekomon while it composed itself, "You get good at this after a couple of hundred years. By the way, Wizardmon and Salamon are here which can only mean one thing. Myotismon was right and he was defeated because Gatomon and Wizardmon betrayed him for the digidestined."

"Are you worried that they can unite the resistance?" Cherrymon asked. Gekomon shrugged, "Not at all. Although, it should be easy to turn them on each other. I'll have them turn on the digidestined and avenge Master Myotismon!"

"A fair plan," Cherrymon nodded approvingly as the Gekomon went on, "There's one other thing. The eighth digidestined is Tamer's sister and her partner is Gatomon!"

"He has a sister?" Cherrymon asked in surprise. The Gekomon nodded, "That's what ShogunGekomon said. Anyway, Tamer's not around right now but this seems like a good opportunity. We can use the girl as bait to lure both Tamer and Agumon into a trap."

"Is Wizardmon a partner of the digidestined too?" Cherrymon asked. The Gekomon shook his head, "He was with the digidestined, but I think it was only because of Gatomon. It's a good thing neither of them recognized me. At least, I don't think they did. Either way, we'll take care of him if he shows his face."

The two cackled mischievously through the night at the scheme they'd hatched, eager to see the fruit of their endeavors.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** What are the Gekomon and Cherrymon planning? Will Matt and Gabumon get to the others safely? Can they end the fighting between their friends! Come back for answers next Friday, November 4th 5 PM in a new chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure! If you liked it, let me know in the review sections where I also welcome constructive criticism and speculation. I make a point of replying in a timely manner, although the website's issues with posting and reviewing tend to make this difficult to do. Unless it's a guest review, in which case it will need to be signed to get a guest reply in the next chapter's post author's notes. And now for lines from the next chapter:

"I think I can help with that," Wizardmon appeared beside them calmly and tipped his hat above his head.

"I don't see how you could. Only digimon of the same type can tell each other apart," Leomon said.

Tentomon pleaded, "Wait! It's not what you think!"

"Stop it. Let's not jump to conclusions until we have their side of the story," Centarumon commanded.

"That's not a good thing, though. We don't know how many digimon think something is wrong or who we can trust here. I think it'd be better if we stay quiet for now," Izzy told them at a whisper.


	43. Doubt

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hey everyone! Thanks for coming back to read the next chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure! Special Thanks goes to all the readers who favorited and followed the story. Thanks guys, we wouldn't be here without you. Even bigger thanks to you guys who reviewed the story. The biggest thanks go to Ace Spiritwell and BelenDigivolution for all the fanart they make for this story. There are links in my profile to view the art. Why not check out their fanfiction profiles and their deviant art accounts too? Those two are awesome and I really appreciate all their support. All right, let's start the next chapter!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 43: Doubt**

TK perked up when he heard the familiar sounds of galloping coming from the edge of the camp. Despite the fatigue from the long trek through the forest, the knowledge that danger could come at any moment kept him awake - a sentiment the others shared. When his brother appeared atop Garurumon at the edge of their camp, he jumped with excitement and ran to meet them, "Matt!"

"TK!" the older brother rolled off of Garurumon to meet his little brother and the two leapt into a big hug, "I'm so glad you're okay."

The commotion attracted the attention of the others in the camp and they awoke. Patamon was the first one up and he landed on TK's head, "How did you find us? Where are the others? How did get away?"

He turned a bright red shade before answering, "The digivice. We used it to find you. The others are back in camp running a distraction…I don't want to talk about it. Forget about that, where's Leomon? I have to talk to him about what happened with ShogunGekomon."

"Leomon? He's out on patrol with Andromon," Sora said quietly. Palmon sighed, "Is it just me or do more and more digimon get past the patrols? First the Gekomon and now Matt and Garurumon? Who's next? The Dark Masters?"

"What's this about Dark Masters?" Leomon appeared at the edge of the camp with Andromon and several Agumon. The irony of the statement was made all the more perfect by their arrival. Palmon waved to the lion, "Hey guys! Two more got past you."

"What are you talking about?" Leomon paused upon seeing Matt and Garurumon, "Its you! How did you find us?"

"Digivice," Matt showed its screen Leomon. He beamed proudly and slapped him on the shoulder so hard that he almost fell over, "That's very clever of you. But where are the others?"

"They're still with ShogunGekomon. Forget that, I snuck over here to figure out what exactly happened with you," Matt said, "ShogunGekomon says you attacked the Gekomon because you were a traitor. But that's not what really happened, is it?"

Leomon frowned and scratched the back of his head, "It is true. I did attack the Gekomon, but not without reason. I know one of the Agumon may have told you about the suspicions rising within our group, and I'm sure ShogunGekomon told you the same. There was plenty to suspect with how we could lose so many battles when we had so many capable digimon on our side. Everyone was looking for someone to blame and tensions were high. I personally suspected ShogunGekomon for a while and I'm sure he suspected me. That is, until another digimon caught my attention: a Gekomon. I tried to confront that Gekomon but he attacked. Or was it a she? That doesn't matter. It hid among the other Gekomon as I tried to fight back. One misunderstanding led to another, and I was forced to leave. These Agumon came with me as I left because they didn't think I would ever do something like that."

"What about you Andromon? Did you think Leomon was innocent too?" Biyomon asked. The android shook its head, "Negative. My ongoing mission is to protect the inhabitants of Koromon Village. They may be Agumon now, but they are still the inhabitants of Koromon Village."

"Wow, talk about loyalty," Mimi nodded.

"By the way, where's Wizardmon? I don't see him," Matt looked around the camp obliviously. Palmon pointed out into the forest in the direction that Matt came from, "He left after we get separated to find Salamon."

"He did? That can't be good. He never showed up," Garurumon answered.

"You don't think he's lost, is he?" Palmon asked worriedly. Mimi put a hand to her hip, "No way. A digimon as smart as him couldn't get lost in the forest. I bet he's already there."

"Speaking of getting there, we should probably go too," Matt said somberly while still hugging his little brother. There was sadness in both brother's eyes as Matt climbed back onto his partner and said, "If only we could get you guys to just talk to each other. Maybe you could figure out which of the Gekomon is the one who's been betraying you guys."

Leomon eyes narrowed as he growled, "ShogunGekomon won't listen to me. He's already convinced that I am the traitor. He'd have me killed as soon as we came close to the camp."

"What if we stood between you guys? You know, act as a shield to keep you guys from tearing each other apart?" Patamon suggested eagerly.

"That wouldn't send the best of messages to him. Imagine if he showed up with his army, while your friends waited in front of his army. He'd take it as proof that I did in fact betray him," Leomon admitted. Matt sighed, "What if we could find the Gekomon who betrayed you guys?"

"I don't see how you could. Only digimon of the same type can tell each other apart," Leomon said, "I admit, I can't even tell the Agumon apart. Except for The Tamer's partner, but he's different. It's obvious because they practically have the same personality."

"You're joking," Matt said disbelievingly, looking to his partner for confirmation. The wolf nodded and stated, "No, it's true. I can't tell any of the Gekomon or Otamamon apart. Same for all the Agumon."

"Yeah. Things got really confusing with all the refugees coming to our village," one of the Agumon admitted. Matt groaned, "Oh man. This is going to be harder than I thought."

"It's too bad that Izzy isn't here. He'd come up with an idea," Mimi sighed. Palmon snickered and teased her partner, "Are you feeling lonely Mimi?"

The girl tried to smack the back of her partner's head, but Palmon moved out of the way too quickly. Mimi cleared her throat to save face, "You should head back Matt. Izzy will think of something and then you can come back."

"Oh, right. They can't distract the others for long," Matt turned to go but TK stayed attached, "You're not going, are you Matt?"

"Hey buddy. I'll be back, okay?" Matt promised his little brother from atop Garurumon, "Just wait for us!"

"Okay," TK said sheepishly. Matt waved them off before he and Garurumon took back off into the forest. They hadn't been gone too long, so hopefully the others were still able to keep up the charade. Along the way, the two wondered if they would encounter Cherrymon again - which brought to mind his cryptic warning. Cherrymon said DemiDevimon wore the face of someone they'd trust. It had to be the Gekomon, but how could they prove that?

TK was disappointed to see his brother go as quickly as he'd come and stared at his own shoes sadly. As much as he wanted his older brother to stay, he understood that he couldn't be here now. The digimon were mad at each other, and might turn mad at them if they were caught. It reminded him of his own situation with his parents and he wished the same circumstances didn't have to repeat themselves here. Patamon sensed his partner's disappointment and patted him gently, "It's okay TK! Matt and Garurumon will be back soon!"

"I know. This whole thing, though. It's sort of like our parents. I mean, we can't see each other because they're mad, y'know?" TK mumbled quietly. He felt a soft pat on his head as Sora assured him, "Things will work out. We just need to think of a way to get everyone to talk and listen without attacking."

"Did someone say attacking without listening?" a childish voice echoed through the forest. Leomon readied his sword and the Agumon took defensive positions around them while Andromon armed his cannons. Sora and Mimi looked at each other, then to their digimon partners. They all recognized the voice of Puppetmon, the Dark Master. The three digidestined retrieved their digivices and Sora asked, "Ready everyone?"

"Ready!" their three digimon said together. Before any of them could even begin to digivolve, their three digimon partners were swarmed by the Agumon and pinned to the ground. At the same time, Andromon restrained the girls while Leomon scooped up TK by his arm. Mimi yelped, "HEY! WHAT'S GOING ON?"

"We don't know! Our bodies are moving on their-" one of the Agumon tried to answer but had his mouth slam shut on his tongue before he could say any more. Sora sighed, "Oh come on! Not this again."

"Yes, this again! What's wrong? Don't you like my strings? That's because you're boring!" Puppetmon's voice said, "That's okay. I know how to make things fun again! Isn't that right Leomon?"

"You won't get away with-" Leomon's defiance halted only when his tongue was also crushed by his own mouth. Puppetmon giggled playfully, "Ooh! I never get tired of that! This is going to be so fun! Now march!"

Against their will, the Agumon began to march in lock step while holding their digimon partners down. Leomon and Andromon carried the digidestined as they walked through the forest in the direction that Matt and Gabumon had gone. Everyone tried to scream and protest while struggling against their bonds until Puppetmon used his powers to shut their mouths. Then he displayed a skill they didn't know he had - he made the Agumon start to sing in harmony against their wills. Puppetmon gleefully stated, "There, that's better! Now I won't be bored while we march!"

"Where are we going?" Sora demanded of Puppetmon as he giggled, "Somewhere fun!"

* * *

The digidestined did their best to keep up the charade from the many digimon that came along to ask about Matt and Gabumon. It was easy at first but as the hours passed, the concern turned to disbelief for the digimon and worry for the digidestined. Kari whispered to the others, "Do you guys think that Matt and Garurumon are okay?"

"No doubt about it. They're two of the toughest guys we know," Gomamon tried to cheer up the little girl. She remained silent until they were approached again by Meramon, the flames of his body crackling quietly and illuminating the surrounding forest, "Is your friend alright? I heard about his…predicament. He's been away for awhile so I thought I should check up on him."

"He'll be fine, he just needs a little more time to…clean up," Joe said quickly, so Meramon asked, "That bad, huh?"

They all nodded in unison to confirm the lie. Meramon took a long look into the forest behind them before leaning in close. The heat of his flames brought sweat to their foreheads but they tried not to show their discomfort. When he was just inches from their faces and the heat was near unbearable, he said in a low whisper, "He's not really sick. He's gone to find the others because you guys think there's something wrong with the camp too, don't you?"

Before any of them could reply, he added, "You're not the only ones. Keep quiet for now. I hope your friends make it back okay. The Dark Masters' minions patrol more readily at night."

He took his leave to rejoin the digimon in the center of the camp and they all breathed a sigh of relief. Gomamon commented, "It's good to know we're not the only ones who think something is wrong."

"That's not a good thing, though. We don't know how many digimon think something is wrong or who we can trust here. I think it'd be better if we stay quiet for now," Izzy told them at a whisper, "We'll talk to Matt when he gets here."

As he said those words, they heard foot steps coming from the forest and they readied themselves to greet Matt. But the pace was hurried and breaths between each step were frantic - a beaten and bruised Gekomon emerged from the forest, gasping for breath and clearly tired from running. It paused just short of the digidestined and its face filled with suspicion before it ran around them. It looked at them nervously before going around them to rejoin the rest of the camp where it quickly began talking to the other digimon. The ruckus it rose was enough to leave the digidestined in wonder. Tentomon leaned on his partner, "What do you think that was about?"

"No idea, but whatever it was has him freaked out. That can't be good," Salamon pointed out as the digimon it spoke to became anxious. Joe scratched the back of his head curiously, concerned over the number of digimon turning pale at the Gekomon's words. He hated how annoying things were getting and sighed, "We should probably go check it out."

The number of digimon around the Gekomon grew in size as the digidestined drew closer. Each one gave an apprehensive look that was unsettling. That all paled compared to when Centarumon confronted them with his solitary red eye gazing down on them, "Digidestined. How's your friend?"

"Still sick. What's going on?" Salamon asked the centaur nervously. Centarumon's single eye moved from digidestined to digimon carefully before he pointed out, "They likely don't know."

"How couldn't they?" the grumpy Gekomon accused, his voice shaking, "Think about it. They were all huddled together and covering for their friend."

"What's going on?" Gomamon asked, feeling the tension rising in the air as more digimon gave them dirty looks. The grumpy Gekomon snarled, "Like you don't know!"

"Stop it. Let's not jump to conclusions until we have their side of the story," Centarumon commanded, "This Gekomon says his patrol encountered your friends in the forest - the human with the Garurumon. He claims that they tore through the patrol and then ran off into the forest."

"What!?" they all gasped. Tentomon went forward, "That can't be true. Matt and Gabumon wouldn't hurt a fly, well, unless the fly tried to hurt TK. But they wouldn't attack anyone for no reason like that."

An Otamamon asked, "You didn't know, right? You didn't know your friend would do that."

"Of course they knew!" the Gekomon snapped angrily, "The rest of my patrol dead! They're all dead and those guys are behind it."

"But they couldn't have know. Their friends said they're just using the bathroom," a Yokomon offered in their defense, "For all we know, they were duped just as much as we were."

Tentomon went forward and tried to maintain the lie, "That's right! Matt and Gabumon are using the bathroom! You know, from the berries!"

"If that's true, it shouldn't take long to call your friend here," Centarumon stated, "To spare them embarrassment, why don't one of you go get them?"

The digidestined looked at each other nervously and Centarumon sensed something was wrong. He stepped closer and drew an imposing figure over the digidestined before asking, "Is there something wrong?"

"Matt and Gabumon aren't…going to the bathroom," Izzy admitted sheepishly, "That was a lie."

"SEE! I KNEW IT!" the Gekomon pointed at them accusingly as the other digimon gasped in surprise. Before the clamor grew any louder, Gomamon pleaded, "Wait! It's not what you think! They just went to find Leomon and the others."

"And you didn't think to tell us?" Centarumon's voice sounded agitated. An Otamamon asked, "Why would you do that? Is it because you don't like us?"

"It's not like that!" Kari swore, "It's just, you guys started fighting last time. We didn't want you to start fighting again. So Matt and Gabumon went alone so that you guys wouldn't follow."

"I'm disappointed in you digidestined. You withheld important information from us," Centarumon reprimanded and crossed his arms, "You realize that this will make it difficult to trust anything you say or do in the future."

"Hold on. We can't just assume that Matt or Gabumon would do these kind of things. I mean, we don't even know that they did," Gomamon argued, "All we have is this Gekomon saying these things."

"And this Gekomon remembers how you guys abandoned us at Koromon Village!"

The Gekomon's words struck a cord that left everyone uneasy. The digidestined and their digimon shifted uncomfortably as they each thought about that horrible day they'd been unable to save the village. Everyone except Kari who hadn't been there to witness the devastation so she could only look at the others dumbly for some explanation as to what had everyone bothered. The Gekomon went on, "Why is it that every time you guys show up, something bad happens?"

"Hey, you guys are the ones who showed up with the spears and dragged us away," Salamon barked until Centarumon stamped his foot, "Enough. Everyone calm down before someone does something they regret. Digidestined, do you know where your friend is now?"

They didn't answer. To tell the truth would be to admit that they had a way of find the others and risk ShogunGekomon's digimon getting ready to attack. To lie would make it seem like they'd sent their friend off on a wild goose chase without much of a plan. They hesitated just a few seconds too long and the Gekomon called them out on it, "See! They can't even answer! They're liars!"

"Wait! Let us find Matt! We'll bring him back here and get his side of the story!" Joe said quickly, "Izzy and Tentomon can go out there. Tentomon digivolves to Kabuterimon, and then the two of them go looking!"

"Us?" Tentomon gasped.

"Yeah, you guys can fly and you're both faster which means they can't run away," Joe said quickly, sweat running down the side of his face. Izzy felt a lump in his throat but nodded in agreement. Right now, finding out from Matt what had happened would be the best way to handle their predicament. Plus, Matt and Garurumon would be able to prove they didn't hurt anyone. It seemed okay until one of the Otamamon asked, "Yeah right. How do we know that they won't run away?"

"We won't! You don't think we'd leave you guys behind would you?" Izzy asked. A Gotsumon answered, "It didn't stop you guys at Koromon Village."

"What happened at Koromon Village?" Kari finally asked. The digidestined looked at each other sheepishly, not wanting to recount the events. Unfortunately, the grumpy Gekomon spoke out, "You're The Digimon Tamer's sister, right? That's what you said, isn't it?"

"His name is Tai," Kari said, "Tai Kamiya."

The grumpy Gekomon scoffed, "You're going to want to sit down for this one."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Salamon frowned, trying to inch between the Gekomon and her partner. Kari was adamant to learn more and sat down, "I want to know. Tell me. We'll wait for guys you to come back."

"Better make it quick. They look testy," Joe whispered to the two before they hurried into the forest. Tentomon digivolved to Kabuterimon and carried them over the forest in search of Matt. While they waited, the Gekomon began to tell the story of Koromon Village and the siege that Etemon lay upon it.

* * *

Kabuterimon soared over the forest as fast as he could while Izzy scanned the trees for any movement and the ground for anything to indicate Garurumon was nearby. It was hard to make anything out so he brought out his digivice and scanned it. After a quick check to make sure he had the right direction, he pointed out into the trees, "That way Kabuterimon!"

Kabuterimon followed the instruction and changed course. They went some distance before encountering Matt and Garurumon galloping below. They stopped as soon as they heard the buzz of Kabuterimon's wings and Izzy called out, "Hey!"

"Izzy? Kabuterimon!? What are you guys doing here? Shouldn't you be at camp?" Matt asked as the giant bug touched down beside them.

"We came looking for you! There's trouble back at the camp! A Gekomon is saying you guys attacked a patrol and killed a bunch of Gekomon," Kabuterimon said while lowering himself down. Garurumon cocked his head to the side, "Wait, what?"

"I'll explain on the way," Izzy promised while extending his hand, "We need to hurry quick!"

Izzy felt Matt staring at him intently and ushered him, "Come on, we have to go."

"How do we know you two are really who you say you are? This could be a trick," Matt pointed out carefully while Garurumon tip toed away. Izzy blinked as he processed Matt's suspicion and replied, "What are you talking about? Of course we are who we say we are. Why wouldn't we be?"

"It's just something a digimon we met said. There's a digimon who's been spreading mistrust between the different digimon at the camp named DemiDevimon. The digimon is able to disguise himself as someone we'd trust. How do we know that you're the real Izzy and Kabuterimon?" Matt summarized his thoughts carefully.

Izzy gave careful consideration to his reply, "Well…I guess we'll have to prove that we're really who we say we are. I mean, we know you are who you are because of the digivice. So….that's right! Check your digivice. You'll see for yourself. We're telling the truth."

"Oh right. Duh," Matt slapped himself in the forehead and checked his digivice, sighing only when it confirmed what he wanted to know, "Well now I feel stupid."

"Can we go now? The sooner we get back, the better," Kabuterimon rushed the group along. After a quick de-digivolution, they clamored aboard Kabuterimon and made their way back to the camp. Along the way, Matt asked, "So what's going on Izzy? You said a Gekomon said we attacked a patrol?"

"After they saw you leaving," Izzy replied, "You didn't actually-"

"Come on Izzy. You know we wouldn't," Matt groaned back in total disbelief. Izzy admitted, "It was hard to believe at first too. What did you find out from Leomon?"

"He says he did attack because he found the traitor. And guess what?" Garurumon paused to let the tension rise, "He says it was a Gekomon! He wasn't trying to attack the group, he was trying to attack the Gekomon but it ran and hid among the other Gekomon."

"And that went about as well as it did. So it's a Gekomon?" Izzy murmured. Matt nodded, "Yeah, and I bet you it's the same Gekomon. Don't you think?"

Izzy mulled it over, "I think we'll need some proof first. Throwing around blame too quickly will make the other digimon suspicious. Maybe if Leomon came to tell his side of the story."

"Leomon says ShogunGekomon would attack on sight. I thought we could get him to listen if we kept ourselves between Leomon and the ShogunGekomon but Leomon said something about that looking bad," Matt sighed, "Which is why we went looking for you. We figured that you would come up with something that could make them listen to each other."

"First, we'll need to set the record straight with that Gekomon," Izzy said, "It'll be your word against his, and there's a bunch of missing Gekomon. I'm not saying I don't believe you. I do, but they're the ones we need to convince."

"It shouldn't be too hard, right?" Gabumon sounded like he was trying to reassure himself more than stating a fact.

They returned to the camp to found Kari sitting with the Gekomon and listening to the events of Koromon Village. Joe, Gomamon, and Salamon were waiting and looking around nervously as the Gekomon finished saying whatever it was saying. When it finished, Kari stood up and declared, "That's a lie! Tai would never do that!"

"What? Never abandon anyone? That's funny. I'd almost think he and Agumon abandoned you guys," the Gekomon said back confidently. Kari defended, "That's not true! They just…went away for a little while."

"Is that right? Well where'd they go?" the Gekomon threw up its arms in frustration, "Because it'd be really nice to have them here to settle this whole thing."

"I…I don't know," Kari mumbled. Salamon snapped at the Gekomon, "Why don't you back off?"

"Why don't you face facts? The Tamer and Agumon abandoned us at Koromon Village. Why wouldn't those two leave us too? Heck, why not attack some of us along the way?" the Gekomon proposed the ideas rather angrily. His eyes narrowed as he eyes the cat, "You look familiar. Haven't I seen you somewhere before?"

Salamon growled and opened her mouth to shout back only to be interrupted by Matt, "Why don't you put a cork on it? Who's saying Gabumon and I attacked anyone?"

"They came back!" a Yokomon said excitedly, "Thank goodness!"

"It's about time. Gekomon just finished telling Kari about Koromon Village," Gomamon sighed, "It was…it wasn't good."

"I bet," Gabumon nodded sheepishly, shivering at his recollections of Koromon Village - their intense fight to protect it and how it all meant nothing in the end as the village was destroyed by Etemon. Centarumon approached Matt and Gabumon first with a contingent of Gekomon standing at the ready, "I'd say it's good to see you've returned, but the circumstances demand otherwise. You two disappeared and a group of our Gekomon have disappeared. The survivor testifies that you were the ones who attacked them. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"

"How about the fact that we didn't do it?" Matt answered, "Besides, we found the others with Leomon! They're fine! They're all okay! What's not okay is what Leomon told us! He says he isn't the traitor and that they are still here!"

"Leomon is a traitor and cannot be trusted," Centarumon pointed out to Matt, "We established this when he attacked a group of Gekomon. And you two are accused of doing the same thing."

Gabumon sprang to their defense, "That's just it! Leomon says that he did it to-"

Izzy covered Gabumon's mouth and whispered, "We can't tell them that without any proof!"

Matt's eyes narrowed and he whispered back, "Why not? They don't have any proof that we killed any digimon!"

"They have proof that you two snuck off without saying a word and that we lied about it, Matt. That makes us look bad," Izzy whispered. They realized the whole camp was watching them bicker while patiently expecting an answer. Centarumon stamped his foot again to get their attention, "Is there anything you'd like to tell us?"

"Nothing," Izzy said quickly. Centarumon grunted his disapproval, "Your trustworthiness is already in question. Continuing to lie will only make things worse."

Izzy and Matt swapped glances before looking over to their partners who were just as nervous as they were. Joe urged them on, "Come on guys. What happened?"

Matt opened his mouth a few times but couldn't make the words come out. He looked to Izzy for support but the poor boy was just as lost. So Gabumon spoke for both of them, "Leomon says he never meant to attack the Gekomon. He was after just one - a Gekomon he thought was the traitor. But that Gekomon started hiding around other Gekomon before he could catch him. And that's when things went bad."

"So what? You're blaming one of us now?" one of the Gekomon asked, "Some heroes."

"Digidestined, there are plenty of digimon who saw otherwise," Centarumon said to them, "I was hoping you had more to offer than this."

"Centarumon, you can't believe Leomon would do something like that can you?" Gomamon asked. The centaur shook his head, "Regardless of what I believe, it doesn't change what they saw. Leomon's reputation shouldn't discount the words of the digimon who were attacked. Or do you think we should ignore the dead?"

"No. It's not like that. This whole thing is crazy. All this fighting and arguing and suspicion has to stop," Matt argued at the centaur, "We were just with Leomon and the others were fine. I think that's a pretty good sign that we can trust him!"

"We're getting off topic. The question is whether or not we can trust you after all that's happened. And if you two really did kill a group of Gekomon earlier. Eight now, all we've confirmed is that there is a group of Gekomon who aren't here, you two did sneak off to meet Leomon, and the rest of you lied to us," Centarumon looked down upon them disappointedly. His gaze shifted past them to something in the woods that he aimed his cannon at, "Although that might confirm some suspicions."

The other digimon looked into the woods and the darkness beyond the trees. It was difficult to make out anything but there was the subtlest of movement in the shadows beneath the moon lit trees. From that movement came the spark of light and a flurry of fire balls, "Pepper Breath!"

"Get down!" Centarumon commanded. The smaller digimon fell to the ground while the Gotsumon and Meramon ran forward to absorb the heat of the flames. They could better withstand the impact and were better suited to survive it. The digidestined and their partners dove to the ground to get out of the way as they heard the shouts of Agumon charging through the trees into the camp. Meramon commanded, "Everyone! Stand your ground! Defend the camp!"

The Gekomon and Otamamon readied themselves to fight with the Gotsumon as the Agumon charged forward holding the digidestined in front like shields. On seeing this, Meramon commanded, "Don't attack!"

Matt glanced up and saw his little brother, Sora, Mimi, Palmon, Patamon, and Biyomon bound by ropes and being used as shields. His hand curled into a fist as he ran forward at the Agumon, "Agumon? What are you guys doing? Let them go!"

The Agumon didn't answer and waited quietly for Andromon and Leomon to step out of the woods behind them. Centarumon took the chance to remark,"Do you still think Leomon would never attempt something like this?"

Matt didn't appreciate the sarcasm and grit his teeth. He wondered if he was wrong to trust Leomon and recalled again what Cherrymon told him - DemiDevimon was disguised as someone they would trust. Going off what Leomon said, it seemed the Gekomon was the one. But was he wrong? Had Leomon super him too? He commented, "This isn't right. Leomon wasn't like this."

"Leomon, what are you doing here?" Centarumon called out angrily at the lion stepped forward. The lion looked conflicted about what he was doing but it didn't stop him from drawing his sword. He seemed like he was trying to say something but all he could produce were pained groans. He readied his sword in and took a fighting stance as he squared off against Centarumon. The centaur raised his weapon, "Are you no longer talking?"

Leomon raised his sword above his head and remained silent. Joe and Gomamon moved between the two assembled digimon to appeal for calm, "Everyone! Calm down! We don't have to fight! Let's talk this out!"

Leomon remained silent while the Agumon looked anxiously at each other. Gomamon said to them, "Come on guys. I know things are rough but what are a few raindrops between friends? You don't have to go fighting each other every time you see each other!"

They gave no answer and Leomon leapt into the air to strike down upon Centarumon. The centaur blocked the sword with the cannon on his arm, "Is that how you want to do it Leomon? Very well! Everyone! Attack!"

"No!" Matt cried out as both sides leapt into battle. There was nothing any of the digidestined or their digimon could do but watch the chaos erupt. Matt looked at Gabumon and both knew what the other was thinking - they had to save the others. But TK and Patamon would have to come first. With a flash of light from his digivice, Gabumon digivolved to Garurumon and dove straight at the Agumon holding TK. He didn't want to harm the digimon but he had to free TK, so he swatted them away as hard as he could before cutting their binds. TK grabbed his own digivice and cried out, "You too Patamon! Let's help out!"

"Okay!" Patamon flew out and he was swallowed by the light of TK's digivice to become Angemon. Angemon flew ahead and struck at the Agumon holding the others - giving the rest of them a chance to escape. Sora, Biyomon, Palmon, and Mimi scrambled to join the others while TK threw himself onto Matt in a happy hug, "Matt!"

"TK!"

Garurumon encircled the digidestined to ward off any digimon who might try to fight them, "What's going on with Leomon? He wasn't like this earlier."

"It's Puppetmon! He's gotten control of everyone!" Sora explained. Izzy looked around frantically, "What? Where is he? We're not ready to take him on yet!"

"I don't know. We lost him in the forest," Mimi said, "He could be anywhere!"

"Stop fighting! Please stop! Stop fighting! Please!" Kari pleaded with the digimon in vain. When her words didn't reach them, she turned to the others, "They won't listen!"

"We need to get them to stop before any of them hurt the other!" Kabuterimon said aloud. Matt commented, "It's too late for that."

As he said those words, both an Agumon and a Gekomon managed to impale each other with their own attacks, crying out in pain before turning to data. In that brief moment, they all caught a glimpse of thin threads vanishing from where the Agumon had been moments before. Sora realized, "The strings! We have to cut the strings!"

"Good idea!" Biyomon cheered, flapping her wings to take off into the air. She flew for the nearest Agumon and used her talons to jab at the air around it until she felt the tug of a string. Once she had it, she pulled as hard as she could and managed to cut the strings with her talons. The Agumon stumbled for a moment, realizing its new found freedom and cheered, "I'm free! I'm free! Quick, we have to- whoops!"

Before it could enjoy the freedom any longer, the poor digimon was pulled away by an unseen force and brought back into the fight. Biyomon groaned, "It's no use! Puppetmon just put more strings on it."

"But then why isn't he putting more strings on us?" Mimi asked, before turning red, "Not that I'm complaining."

"He probably can't concentrate on too many things at once and is too focused on the fight," Izzy postulated.

"We need to find Puppetmon. If we take him out, Leomon and the others will stop fighting," Sora said, "We just have to find him!"

"But where do we start?" Salamon asked.

"I think I can help with that," Wizardmon appeared beside them calmly and tipped his hat above his head. He winked and Salamon squealed excitedly, "Wizardmon! You're okay! Where were you?"

"Hiding in plain sight. Follow me. I'll show you where to find Puppetmon," Wizardmon bowed.

"We can't just leave them like this," Sora protested, "They may be fighting but they're still friends. We can't let them hurt each other!"

"Then I'll go!" Izzy volunteered, "Matt, Gabumon, and Kabuterimon. We'll go with Wizardmon and try to beat Puppetmon!"

"We're coming too!" Kari raised her hand for herself and Salamon. The little puppy nodded, "Right! I'm not about to let that bully get away with this!"

"And anywhere Matt goes, TK is going to go too!" Angemon answered for his partner. Mimi shook her head, "You guys go. I'm staying to stop these guys from hurting each other."

"We'll all stay," Palmon agreed, "It'll go better with more of us here."

Sora pronounced, "Then it's settled. We'll stay here and you guys go after Puppetmon. Good luck you guys!"

"Same to you!" Gabumon nodded. Wizardmon broke off in a run into the forest. It should have been no surprise that TK, Kari and Salamon went first after the wizard. Not wanting to be shown up by the youngest members, the remaining members of the team went after. The grumpy Gekomon noticed they were fleeing the fight and pointed it out, "The digidestined are making a break for it!"

"After them!" Meramon called out, beginning his chase after the digidestined while rallying more digimon with him, "With me!"

Unbeknownst to Sora, Mimi, Palmon, Biyomon, Joe or Gomamon; the grumpy Gekomon joined Meramon's group in chase of the other digidestined. They couldn't notice with their hands full trying to keep the two sides separated.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Will the digidestined be able to stop the fighting in time? Will they find out who DemiDevimon is? How much longer will everything spiral out of control? Find out in the next chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure which is due out next week on Friday, November 11th 5 PM CST. If you loved it, let me know in the review section - I make a point of replying as soon as the websites review system will let me which is usually in a day or two. And hey, why not follow or favorite the story? That's all for now, so let's go on to previews of the next chapter!

One of the Gekomon asked, "Okay, can someone please explain what is going on here?"

Puppetmon noticed them when they were feet away and spun on his heels to face them, "Who are you? Wait. You're the digidestined! How did you...you should be over there! What are you doing here?"

"Duh," Kari snarked, "Hey! Can we play Daruma Fell Over? I like that game!"

"I don't like this plan," TK told them.

There was a malice in its eyes as it spoke, "I knew I recognized you the moment I saw you. You're the Wizardmon who worked for Myotismon, aren't you!"


	44. Puppetmon

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hello gentle reader! Welcome back for another chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure. Thanks to everyone who left reviews and to those of you who favorited/followed the story! We wouldn't have come this far without all your support. And I want to give a special thanks out to Ace Spiritwell for producing the cover art for the fanfiction, and to BelenDigievolution for all the fanart they make. Check those two out over at deviantart and here on fanfiction. There are also links on my profile to their respective art. I want to apologize if this chapter doesn't contain the same degree of quality in terms of editing - I was distracted by recent events. Hopefully, after this two week break, things will go back on track. I don't have much else to say so let's get the ball rolling.

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 44: Puppetmon**

The digidestined hurried through the woods as they followed Wizardmon. His sudden appearance was a surprise to them all, but not unwelcome - but his absence left lingering questions in all of their minds. TK asked, "Wizardmon! Where did you go before?"

"Yeah, you never showed up," Matt added bitterly.

"Keeping to the shadows," Wizardmon said without looking back, stopping every so often to check their surroundings before continuing, "I found ShogunGekomon's camp and noticed something was wrong right away. Rather than reveal myself, I chose to observe. I also had to confirm one of my suspicions."

"What are you thinking Wizardmon?" Salamon asked her old friend. Wizardmon thinned behind himself, "That Gekomon who 'rescued' us seemed familiar. I'm sure you've noticed too Salamon. The way he acts, the way he whines."

"The Gekomon was kind of annoying. What does that have to do with anything?" the little puppy asked her old friend impatiently, "Stop being cryptic! It doesn't make you sound smart, just incredibly annoying."

"I think Biyomon told Izzy that once," Kabuterimon commented with a laugh to Izzy's annoyance. Wizardmon stopped in his tracks and raised a hand to stop them. Salamon frowned, "Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it."

"It's not that," Wizardmon answered in a hushed voice and pointed ahead, "Puppetmon should be in the clearing just ahead. Follow me and stay close."

He lowered to a crouch and led the way through the bushes. Their path led out to an open field with knee high grass. In the center stood Puppetmon silhouetted against the moonlight with his hands outstretched. His fingers twitched slightly and moved subtly. He giggled playfully and mumbled quietly to himself, "Teehee. Dumb digimon. Take that! And that! Heehee! Aw, the digidestined always ruin everything! Well, how about this! Haha!"

"Okay, he's right there! Let's take him!" Matt snarled quietly until Gabumon and Izzy both yanked him down, "Don't, he's still a Dark Master. Brute strength won't be enough to beat him! Remember Machinedramon?"

"So what should we do Izzy?" TK asked the computer whiz. He scratched his head nervously, "I honestly thought I'd have a plan by now but I don't. MetalGarurumon is our strongest digimon right now so he'd be able to hold his own. I'd say Angemon could go to since he's a holy type but Puppetmon isn't a Dark type digimon. But he is a virus type which gives all of us an advantage since our digimon are supposed to be vaccine type - but that advantage doesn't mean much if he's strong enough."

"Levels and types aren't everything, right?" Biyomon said.

"If we had some way to deal with the strings," Izzy looked around at everyone present, weighing their digimon's strengths and weaknesses. They were strong enough but that wouldn't mean a thing if Puppetmon took control of them. Inspiration came when he laid eyes on Wizardmon, "Wizardmon, how did you do that thing? You know, disappear right in front of us?"

"Me? The same way I avoid detection. A simple teleportation spell," Wizardmon waved his fingers and he faded from view before them and reappeared behind them, "It's only good for short distances - a few meters at a time. The farthest I ever tried was from one end of Myotismon's castle to another. Half of my cape didn't make it to the other side with me."

A smile cracked on Izzy's face, "Prodigious!"

"Haven't heard that one in a while," Kabuterimon sighed as Izzy did his best to contain his excitement, the ideas rushing into his mind so fast that there was no time for him to process it all into words. He turned to TK with a smile so wide that it unnerved the poor boy, "Izzy…what are you doing? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's really creepy," Kari shivered at the sight of him. Izzy only snapped out of his gleeful trance when Matt slapped his back, "Stop staring at him like that."

"Sorry! I got excited," Izzy smile was so large that he struggled to keep his voice down, "It's kind of obvious, isn't it? Mentally, he's about Kari and TK's age. He's childish and doesn't think too far ahead which means he doesn't consider the consequences of his actions - I say we just send Kari and TK out there."

"No," Matt said sternly.

"I don't like this plan," TK told them.

"Me too," Kari joined the objection.

Izzy offered a thumbs up and added, "Don't worry. You guys will just have to keep him distracted. His attention is already on the fighting back there, having to talk to you two should also affect his concentration. Meanwhile, we'll sneak around so that we surround him. On my signal, we attack at the same time. There should be no way he can take that many hits at the same time."

Matt looked at his little brother and Kari nervously. There was no way he could agree to this but he also remembered what Tamer had said about coddling TK. His tongue felt bitter as he said, "I don't like this, but I'm up for it if you guys are."

TK swallowed a lump in his throat at the mere idea of going our there against Puppetmon and looked to Angemon for support. After a reaffirming nod, TK confidently answered, "I am! How about you Kari?"

"Tai and Koromon were able to stand up to the bad guys, right? Then I will too! What should we do?" Kari waited patiently for Izzy. The computer whiz explained, "Okay. Go out there and get him to play a game with you guys. Doesn't matter what, as long as he doesn't notice us or pay attention to the rest of us."

"Okay," Kari and TK said together.

"We'll be right here, you guys!" Salamon encouraged them before they set out. The two digidestined stepped put of the bushes as the others scattered quietly around the clearing. TK did his best to put on a brave front while Kari walked along side him, accompanied only by the sound of their steps through the grass. Puppetmon noticed them when they were feet away and spun on his heels to face them, "Who are you? Wait. You're the digidestined! How did you...you should be over there! What are you doing here?"

TK did his best to show a brave face and thought of his brother before answering, "We got bored and went exploring. So what are you doing? Can we play too?"

"Huh? Play? Me?" Puppetmon was genuinely taken aback by the question and was flattered by the interest, "I'm playing with my toys. It's a lot of fun and I can make them do whatever I want!"

Both children looked around the clearing, "But there's nothing here."

"That's because the toys aren't here. See, look!" Puppetmon raised his arms up and feverishly danced his fingers through the air. Faint screams could be heard in the distance behind them.

"What is happening?"

"HELP!"

"How are they doing that!?"

"Retreat!"

The wooden puppet burst into laughter, "Hee! That was fun!"

"I don't get it. Did something happen?" Kari continued looking around the darkened clearing. Puppetmon blinked and stared at the two children in disbelief, "How could you miss that!? All the digimon went flying!"

"But we're the only ones here," TK looked around worriedly, hoping that Puppetmon didn't know that the others were circling around in preparation of an ambush. Puppetmon looked at them with pity, "Oh, that's so sad. You guys can't see them. Oh, I know! Here, you try. I'll give you one and then you guys have fun."

TK and Kari felt something furl itself around their fingers tightly. They swapped quizzical glances while Puppetmon's wooden face twisted into the kind of smile that belonged to an old porcelain doll - unoffensive but unsettling all the same. When neither of them did anything, Puppetmon asked, "Come on! Give it a try! Wave your fingers like this!"

"Kay..." Both kids twirled their index finger in the air. While neither child was able to see it, Sora and Garudamon witnessed two Agumon start doing back flips away from the fighting - only to crash into each other. Puppetmon cheered excitedly as the two digidestined stared in confusion. When Puppetmon realized they weren't laughing, his wooden jaw fell so far it appeared nearly unhinged, "Come on! That was funny!"

"But nothing happened. This is dumb and I'm bored. Can we play something else?" Kari asked the marionette who looked to be at a loss for words. Puppetmon stamped his foot on the ground, "What? You don't like this game?"

"Duh," Kari snarked, "Hey! Can we play Daruma Fell Over? I like that game!"

"Kari. That game's really scary," TK whimpered nervously, "Are you sure you want to play that?"

"We're not going to do _that_ Daruma Fell Over," Kari pouted.

"I've never played that game," Puppetmon answered sheepishly, "What are we supposed to do?"

"It's easy. One of us 'it' and the rest of us are trying to tag 'it'. The person who's it turns around so that they can't see everyone else. That's when everyone else can move. But when 'it' turns around the others have to stop moving until 'it' looks away again. Any one 'it' sees moving goes back to the start line and the winner is whoever gets to 'it' first. But if you're standing too close to 'it' when 'it' looks away, they can tag you and send you back to the start," Kari explained to the puppet digimon. He cocked his head to the side, "So I have to play with others?"

It was odd to see the puppet digimon acting so nervously to the prospect of a game that required more than one person. When TK nodded the puppet shook harder, "Oh."

"It's okay. I'll be 'it' first," Kari walked to a far edge of the clearing and TK glanced around for any sign of the others. Puppetmon didn't seem to notice anything amiss, engulfed by the fear of an experience he'd clearly never had before. When she was at the far end, she signaled at them to begin, "Okay guys! The game starts now."

As soon as she spun around, both TK and Puppetmon took their first quick steps towards Kari. Neither child thought that this was how their day was going to go, playing a game with one of the Dark Masters. Anything seemed possible in the Digital World. Of course if The Digimon Tamer were around, this is probably how it would've ended up anyway. He and Kari just had to be sure they didn't mess this up.

"TK! You're going back to the start!" Kari called out to him.

"Huh?" TK snapped put of his thoughts and saw Kari pointing at him. Without thinking, he'd kept walking as Kari looked back. He'd been caught but Puppetmon was still as a statue behind him. Unfortunately, the delight of watching someone else get caught made him laugh, "Hahaha! Ooh! You got caught!"

"You moved! You're out too, Puppetmon!" Kari pointed out. His jaw fell slid open, "WHAT!?"

The game started again when both TK and Puppetmon were back where they started. Both played more intensely this time, holding still for as long as Kari looked back and moving when her attention was elsewhere. After the longest time had passed, Puppetmon got to Kari first and tagged her. He immediately leapt into the air cried out happily, "I did it! I win! That was so much fun! I didn't know playing with others could be like this!"

"You don't play with the other Dark Masters?" TK asked curiously. The puppet calmed down, "No. They don't like fun, so I usually play by myself."

The two kids almost felt sorry for the puppet, but neither had forgotten his particular idea of what playing meant. It didn't make it any less troubling to consider how lonely the digimon must've felt. The puppet laughed, "Hey! Can we play again!?"

"Sure! And since you won! You get to be 'it' next round!" Kari explained to the wooden puppet as it cheered excitedly. After their initial experience with the Dark Masters, this was not what they were expecting. While the two kids watched Puppetmon's joy with apprehension, they heard another set of footsteps come from the forest. They thought it was time to attack and readied their digivices for Izzy's signal - only to see a faint of glow of light moving towards them. When it as close enough to make out, they realized it was Meramon leading a troupe of Gekomon and Otamamon. The lead Gekomon's mouth fell wide open, "You didn't."

"Oh, more toys for me to play with!" Puppetmon jeered excitedly. Meramon's expression turned fiery at the sight before him: two digidestined with Puppetmon and on seemingly friendly terms. He had to know, to be sure his eyes were just playing a trick, "Tell me that this isn't how it looks."

"What else could it be?" The grumpy Gekomon tightened his grip on his own spear, "You guys disappeared and then everything went wrong. Everything! And now we know why! You guys were working with the Dark Masters!"

"No, we're playing!" Puppetmon answered. An Otamamon panicked, "No! It can't be! You weren't! You couldn't!"

"Yeah! And we were having lots of fun! I like paying games with you guys. You digidestined aren't half bad!" Puppetmon answered. The digimon all gasped at the apparent bond of friendship between digidestined and the Dark Master. The flames on Meramon's body grew in size with his scowl, "I didn't want to believe it, that you digidestined could have betrayed us. But here you are with a Dark Master!"

Puppetmon readied to attack and produced a large wooden mallet from nowhere. Kari gasped, "This isn't how it looks!"

"What!?"

"Huh!"

"Now!" Izzy's voice rang out from somewhere in the forest. Lights flashed from the forest to signal the light of digivolution and they heard their partners all digivolving. Even Kari and TK found their digivices blinding them with light. Everyone present covered their eyes as the light blinded them but they could still make out the sound of rockets firing, "Ice Wolf Claw!"

"Hand of Fate!"

"Celestial Arrow!"

"Horn Buster!"

Kari and TK ran as far from Puppetmon as they could while the attacks hit their mark with a loud boom. The force was enough to throw both kids to the ground and showered them with dirt and grass. As it cleared, TK peaked his head up to ask, "Did we get him?"

That was not their luck though as the smoke cleared to show fire burning all around the forest. Silhouetted against the flames was Puppetmon, standing his ground and holding his mallet. He shook more violently than before but with anger instead of anxiety. He looked up at the two kids with what looked like tears, but it was too hard to tell against the flickering light of the fires, "You! You tricked me! I thought we were having fun playing games! Meanies! You're all a bunch of meanies! I'll show you! You hurt me, so I'll hurt you!"

Puppetmon leapt into the air and waved his arms around. Against the moonlight and silhouetted by the fires raging around them, they could plainly see the strings unfurling from his hands. They wrapped around the Gekomon and the Otamamon who lost control of their bodies, "Take this!"

With a flick of his wrist, they all charged for the two kids. TK took Kari's hand and shouted, "Here we go! Run!"

He didn't realize until after they were sprinting that this was how he'd met Tamer the first time at the manor. Now, he was the one trying to lead someone else to safety - it felt good, surprisingly. As the two ran, they saw their partners whiz past overhead glowing with light. Angemon barked, "Get to the others!"

"We'll protect you!" Angewomon added as they continued flying. The two kids continued running but Kari pleaded, "Don't hurt them!"

"We won't!" Angemon said right before he tackled a group of Gekomon and threw them into the air. They all screamed and flailed wildly to the disbelief of both kids, but the two noticed a quick blur appear by each of the digimon - Wizardmon working his way through the strings Puppetmon was using to control the poor digimon. They landed hard and massaged their sore bodies as the Dark Master tried to command their movements again. When they didn't bend to his whim, he complained, "Hey! What's going on!? Cheaters! You guys are cheating! That's no fair! Cheaters!"

"You're the one who takes control of digimon and making them do things they don't want to!" Kari shouted back. Puppetmon hissed, "Those are my toys and I'll do with them whatever I want to do to them! Hee Hee Hee!"

Puppetmon waved his fingers again and used his strings to take control of the freed digimon. With another wave, he used them to charge the others digimon - Angemon, Angewomon, MegaKabuterimon, and MetalGarurumon. Because of the vast difference in strength, their partners focused on throwing the Gekomon and Otamamon aside to avoid killing them. This gave Wizardmon the opening he needed to zip in and cut the strings. Meanwhile, MetalGarururmon focused his attacks on Puppetmon. For all his destructive power and for the wide range of his attacks, Puppetmon was able to outmaneuver every single missile and explosion.

* * *

Meramon witnessed the fighting unfold before him and could not understand what he was seeing anymore. The digidestined were talking to Puppetmon on near friendly terms, before outright attacking him - all while Leomon was battling the rest of their army back at the camp. Then, adding to the confusion, the Gekomon and Otamamon were attacking the digidestined's digimon. But they weren't fighting back, rather they were dodging the attacks and pushing the others aside to keep from hurting them. All while the two youngest digidestined engaged Puppetmon in a shouting match. He couldn't make heads or tails of it and was left with no other option but to watch in silent uncertainty as the fighting went on all around him.

* * *

"Stupid head!"

"Meanie!"

"Bully!"

"Horn Buster!" MegaKabuterimon tried to come down on Puppetmon from above, only to miss when he leapt out of the way at the last second and used his strings to take control of the large bug. Puppetmon jeered and pulled on the stings to make MegaKabuterimon fly towards Meramon. The fiery man prepared to defend himself, "Fight me! I'm right here!"

Before MegaKabuterimon could do anything he regretted, Wizardmon teleported in from above and used his magic to cut the strings over the giant bug. Silhouetted against the moonlight and highlighted by the fire on Meramon's body, Wizardmon was plain to see before anyone there. One of the Gekomon pointed him out, "Look! Who was that? There's someone else here!"

Puppetmon overhead the Gekomon's cry and growled, "I knew it! You're cheating! Cheating cheaters! Take this!"

He threw out strings in every direction, attaching them to anything and everything that he could see: trees, rocks, dirt, and anything else in sight. Kari and TK dropped to the ground to avoid them as they flew everywhere. Their digimon and the older kids had the same idea, and they moved out of the way to avoid the strings. The digimon still moving under Puppetmon's control were unable to avoid the traps placed everywhere - the lucky ones only were tangled. The less lucky ones lost limbs and other body parts as they moved through the strings - before dying and turning to data.

Thinking on his feet, Wizardmon used his teleportation to bring each of the digidestined and their digimon to one side of the clearing - the side with Meramon. Meramon jumped in surprise as Wizardmon appeared beside him, "What the!? How did you-?"

"That was close. We barely survived that," Wizardmon gasped for breath from exertion, "Is everyone alright?"

"I think so," Matt answered, looking around the clearing in surprise, "Does anyone else know what just happened?"

"Puppetmon covered the entire clearing with his strings," Wizardmon said, "I got you guys out in time, but I can't say the same for the other digimon."

They watched the digimon caught in the wire traps struggle to break free, only for the strings to tighten and dig into their skin. The digimon squeaked as their skin tore and TK cried out, "We have to help them!"

"Wizardmon, can you use your teleportation to get them out?" Izzy asked the gasping wizard. The wizard shook his head, "Not that many at once. If I start taking them out of there, Puppetmon may just kill the rest of them."

"Then what do we do?" MetalGarurumon asked, "No matter what I throw at him, he dodges the attack."

"We took him by surprise the first time," Izzy pointed out, "We can't do it again either. Not with so many digimon trapped out there! We'll need to distract him with something else if he's going to sit still long enough."

"YOU CHEATERS WON'T GET AWAY WITH IT A SECOND TIME!" Puppetmon shouted at them from the center of the field, pulling again on the strings to tighten on the digimon. They screamed even louder as the wires cut deeper and Kari shouted, "Well we have to do something!"

"I have an idea," Meramon spoke, "Wizardmon, how fast can you teleport?"

Wizardmon began his reply, "It depends on the distance and how rapid in succession I'll have to do it. Like if I were to teleport a few feet forward, it would take me a second before I could do it again, but if I were to do it fifty times then it would-"

"Can you do it faster than a fire can spread?" Meramon interrupted him, not wanting to listen to a lengthy explanation. The wizard nodded his head and looked at him inquisitively, "Please tell me you aren't thinking of doing what I think you are."

"I am. Work fast," Meramon said before running forward and taking hold of the wire in his hands. Against the heat of his body, they burst into flame and began traveling up the length of the cord. Matt panicked, "What are you doing!?"

"I have this," Wizardmon gasped before disappearing. He reappeared beside one of the Otamamon and took hold of it before vanishing again, reappearing beside them as quickly as he left. He gasped for breath before going again, racing the fire to reach as many of the digimon as he could from the string trap. Puppetmon was unable to see Wizardmon moving as he was too focused on watching the fire spread across his trap - towards him. It seemed the digidestined had knowingly sacrificed the other digimon for a chance to strike him.

"Uh oh!" Puppetmon panicked, wringing his hands violently and trying to free himself of the strings. In so doing, the trap loosened and the other digimon were able to escape before they were consumed by the flames. One of the Gekomon rejoined them at their side and asked with bated breath, "Okay, can someone please explain what is going on here?"

"I think we're all a little lost here," Meramon added, watching Puppetmon leaping out of the way to avoid the searing flames as they continued along the strings towards him, "This game isn't fun anymore!"

Wizardmon was on his knees now, gasping for breath, "I think I overdid the teleportation. I need a minute."

"It's all right, just rest. We can take care of this on our own!" Angewomon instructed her old friend. She and Angemon charged ahead first, followed by MegaKabuterimon and MetalGarurumon. The four digimon circled Puppetmon from above and he jeered, "What? You're going to gang up on me!? BULLIES! TAKE THIS!"

He threw more strings out to grab the digidestined's digimon but they scattered out of the way. MegaKabuterimon, with his hulking size, was an easier target and lost control of his movements. Puppetmon began to manipulate him with a gleeful smile, flicking his wrists to make MegaKabuterimon land over him like a massive shield. The puppet taunted them, "Haha! Now you'll never get me!'

"What do we do? He's got MegaKabuterimon!" MetalGarurumon panicked. Wizardmon tried to force himself up so that he could help but ended up falling to the ground from weakness, "Can't help yet…too tired."

"We'll need to cut the strings to get MegaKabuterimon free," Izzy said aloud, "Until then, we can't attack!"

"Give me a minute," Wizardmon gasped, "I can teleport in, cut the strings, and teleport out."

"Look out Angemon!" TK pointed out MegaKabuterimon using his Horn Buster attack to swat the angel digimon out of the sky. Wizardmon forced himself up and steadied himself against the two older digidestined, "Then I'll just have to go. I'll need-"

Before he could finish, a spear head protruded from his chest and stopped the digimon short of finishing his sentence. Matt, TK, and Izzy fell silent as the image of Mimi's mother being impaled from behind came to mind. Kari and the other digimon gasped as they looked behind to see the spear being held by a Gekomon, the _grumpy_ Gekomon. There was a malice in its eyes as it spoke, "I knew I recognized you the moment I saw you. You're the Wizardmon who worked for Myotismon, aren't you!? Which would mean that Salamon we saw walking around was Gatomon, wasn't it? If you two are with the digidestined, it's no wonder that they were with the Dark Masters!"

"I figured...you were...who-," Wizardmon gasped before finishing his sentence as he sank to his knees again, clutching at the spear that was piercing him from behind. He gasped for breath while he sank to the ground and the digidestined ran to help him. The stir caught Angewomon's attention and she swooped down to see them, "Wizardmon! Wizardmon, what-"

"You! You're a traitor too! Just like the other digidestined! But you're worse!" the Gekomon pointed at the angelic figure angrily, "Because you're Gatomon, aren't you!? Myotismon's right hand digimon!"

"How…how do you know that?" Angewomon was taken by surprise and stopped just short of her friend, although it was clear that she wanted to come to his aid. The looks she was receiving from the other Gekomon and Otamamon present was mortifying - a mix of anger and shock that conveyed a desire for her to leave. But that exact choice of words was exactly what Matt needed to hear, "Wait a second, she's right. How do you know that?"

"Come on, it's obvious isn't it?" the Gekomon reasoned angrily, "You guys all ran off to beat Myotismon, didn't you? You disappear for who knows how long, and when you come back there's a Wizardmon and a Salamon with you? Who else could they be?"

For Matt, that wasn't enough. Everything he'd experienced in the last day started clicking in his mind and he argued, "They could've been any Wizardmon or Salamon. Leomon even said that digimon can only tell digimon of the same type apart. Like how Gekomon can only tell other Gekomon apart and the Agumon can only tell other Agumon apart. But you said you 'knew', and you were so sure that you stabbed him with a spear! But how did you know?"

"Deductive reasoning! That's how!" Gekomon countered, "Or did you forget the part about how I said you guys left to fight Myotismon and came back with a Wizardmon and a-"

"I know that. That doesn't explain how you specifically knew that Angewomon and Wizardmon used to work for Myotismon," Matt hissed angrily, "How did you know!?"

"Ha! You see! He admits it! Those two do work for Myotismon!" the Gekomon growled out, looking at his fellow digimon for support. The response he got was mixed, with uncertainty muddling the digimon present. They wanted to agree with him about Myotismon's two former servants, but they had doubts on whether or not these two really were.

Matt went on by asking the other Gekomon, "Hey. I have to ask. Back when Leomon 'turned traitor' does anyone know which Gekomon he was attacking? Leomon said he went after one Gekomon but that Gekomon hid in a group of them."

The Gekomon shifted uncomfortably until another raised its hand, "I know! It was that Gekomon over there! He was the one who said Leomon turned traitor! Then he ran off to get ShogunGekomon! He saved us!"

"Save you? Or himself?" Matt rounded towards it angrily, "Cherrymon said that-"

"Cherrymon? He works for Puppetmon!" the Gekomon interrupted, "You're really going to listen to anything he has to say?"

"He said that the digimon who did it was DemiDevimon and that he's been manipulating both sides for a long time," Matt went on as if the Gekomon hadn't said a thing, "So how do we know you are who you say you are?"

"Pfft. That's the best you have? I'm DemiDevimon? I'm! A! GEKOMON!" it growled back, "Always have been, always will be! That's how I know about what happened at Koromon Village. Remember?"

With what little strength he had, Wizardmon stretched out his hand towards the Gekomon, "I know...a way...to set...settle this."

He mumbled something under his breath and a gust of wind shot forward from his hand towards the Gekomon. The Gekomon's skin blew away like sand to reveal clammy pale skin covered in black fur. It was attached to a little ball with a face wearing a blue mask that stretched out for a pair of antennae on its head and bat like wings growing from its ears. The new digimon seemed startled at first by Wizardmon then shrugged it off. It's new voice was high pitched and squeaky, "What was that supposed to be? A gust of wind? How does that settle anythin…what's wrong with my voice? It's so high pitched and-"

"Hey, DemiDevimon," Matt waved jokingly. DemiDevimon blinked and frowned, "Oh…cra-"

"GET HIM!" the Gekomon growled angrily, "GET HIM NOW!"

The Gekomon and Otamamon swarmed the little bat as it flew away, only to go right into Angewomon's arms, "NO! HEY! LET ME GO!"

"You're not going anywhere!" Angewomon dug her fingers into the creature so hard that it began to draw blood, "You hurt Wizardmon!"

"Let me go! I'm a victim of circumstance!" the bat screamed to no one's belief. Matt breathed a sigh of relief, "Thanks Wizardmon. WIZARDMON!"

When no one was looking, Wizardmon had collapsed to the ground on his side while holding the spear in his hands. Kari was the first one to reach him and nudged him, "Are you okay?"

"He's a strong digimon to have lasted this long but he needs help quick - who knows how much longer he'll last," Meramon said.

"Wizardmon, hang on!" Kari cried out to the unconscious wizard, "Don't die! Please!"

"This looks bad, what should we do?" another Gekomon looked around worriedly.

"Joe! Joe should know what to do! He knows stuff from his dad!" TK told them hopefully. Izzy muttered something about not knowing if Joe's understanding of medicine would be enough.

"We'll go bring him back," two of the Gekomon scooped up Wizardmon's limp body and helped carry back in the direction of the woods. Angewomon went to follow them but Izzy implored her to stay, "Wait! You can't go! We need you here to defeat Puppetmon!"

"He's my friend!" Angewomon's voice cracked and tears streamed out from under helmet, down the side of her face. Kari looked at her distraught angel partner and added, "We should both go. Now that we have DemiDevimon, we can have him tell ShogunGekomon the truth."

"We'll need your strength to beat Puppetmon," Angemon pointed out to the two. Izzy could see the pained look on Kari's face and could just as easily tell how much this meant to Angewomon. Against his better judgment, he sighed, "Okay. We'll think of something to beat Puppetmon. Hurry and help Wizardmon. And get the others to stop fighting if you are able to."

"Thank you," Angewomon's frown remained, but she scooped up Kari in her free hand and followed after the Gekomon holding Wizardmon. Izzy hoped that he hadn't just made a big mistake and instead tried to concentrate on Puppetmon, "Okay, now what do we about him?"

"I could use my fire to smoke him out!" Meramon suggested as the flames on his body grew larger. Izzy wasted no time refuting the idea, "You'll hurt MegaKabuterimon! We need to break the strings holding him so that he can escape."

"How?" Matt asked.

"I'm thinking," Izzy massaged his temples and tried to come up with a plan. Meramon's fire was guaranteed to work, especially since Puppetmon was made of wood, but they risked hurting MegaKabuterimon. If any of them tried to cut the strings themselves, they'd just get caught in the web and be in. Their digimon could try to battle Puppetmon, but he would just use MegaKabuterimon as a shield. His thoughts just went round and around inside his head in an endless loop as he searched for a solution. There was no way for them to beat Puppetmon without harming his partner, at least none that he could think of.

In that moment of indecision, Puppetmon went on the offensive and threw MegaKabuterimon at Angemon, "Take this!"

The two collided with each other in the air and an opening was made. Izzy saw the opportunity and pointed it out for them, "There's our chance! MetalGarurumon!"

"Got it! ICE WOLF CLAW!" a barrage of missiles soared through the air and impacted on the ground all around them. Puppetmon cackled, "HEHEHE! CATCH ME IF YOU CAN DIGIDESTINED!"

"He moves too fast to hit!" Matt snapped. Meramon's arms blazed out fire, "Then let's slow him down! FIREBALL!"

Balls of flame shot out from his hand and flew through the air at Puppetmon. Each one missed the mark but did manage to set the forest aflame around them. Puppetmon cackled as he danced around the missiles and fire balls, "Ha ha! You missed me!"

"I wasn't aiming at you!" Meramon smiled as the puppet landed in the center of the clearing. He looked around him and took note of the fact that his surroundings were now bathed in scorching flames. The realization made the puppet sweat, "Well, poop."

There was nowhere for the puppet to go now that he was exits were cut off. Left a sitting duck, Matt shouted at his partner, "Finish it Metal Garurumon!"

"I have it! ME-"

"Petrifier!"

Puppetmon looked off to the edge of the clearing in a panic and raised his hands to try and cover his eyes only for his hands to fall short. He tried to scream, but it died out as his wooden form slowly turned to stone and he stopped in place. MetalGarurumon stopped his attack before he even started and looked around the clearing in search of the culprit. The digidestined all recognized that attack, and their digimon encircled them in a protective formation. Angemon began, "You all saw that right."

"Cockatrimon!" MetalGarurumon scanned the clearing, "Where is he?"

"I'm right here."

Cockatrimon emerged from the forest covered in branches, clumps of dirt, and leaves. His feathers were in disarray and he appeared to have molted in some places, exposing clammy bare skin. His expression was sallow and humble, as were the Numemon accompanying him. MetalGarurumon and MegaKabuterimon moved forward to meet him, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm trying to help you guys," Cockatrimon threw his hands up in defense as the Numemon cowered behind him. The digidestined and their digimon looked at each other nervously before Izzy retorted, "The last time we went to you for help, we all got turned to stone."

"We're suspicious, I get it. I'm sorry for what I did before but I promise that I'm only here to help you this time!" Cockatrimon said quietly. Still unconvinced, Matt asked, "And why should we believe you?"

"Because I can help Wizardmon. Or at least, I can buy him time," Cockatrimon answered. The last part caught them all off guard and was suspect. While they all agreed that it would have been better to put him down now, the prospect of helping a mortally injured Wizardmon was far too much to pass up. Matt folded his arms, "Okay…but any funny stuff and MetalGarurumon here will take care of you himself."

"I understand," the large chicken shook nervously. Without another word, they decided to take him back to camp but warned him not to try anything funny. Angemon tucked the frozen statue of Puppetmon under his arm and the group went back to the camp together, as the fires around the clearing slowly died.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Will Wizardmon make it? Will ShogunGekomon and Leomon forgive and forget? Will there be more random questions like this? What are Tamer and Agumon doing in all of this? Find out in the next chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure which is due out in two weeks on Friday, November 25th 5 PM CST. If you liked this chapter, why not let me know in the review section - I make a point of replying as soon as the websites review system will let me which is usually in a day or two. Guest reviews need to be signed in order to be replied to. And hey, why not follow or favorite the story? I put a lot of work into this project and hopefully it'll get more traction as the story goes on. That's all for now, so let's go on to previews of the next chapter!

Now let's do previews from the next chapter!

They reached his large tent to find ShogunGekomon awake and furious at a Centarumon who seemed to have just delivered the worst news, "You're telling me that he's right outside the camp!?"

The bat flailed wildly in her hand, "Hey! No! Let me go!"

Centarumon's voice carried an uncharacteristic coldness that took the digidestined by surprise, "It makes death seem like a reprieve."

"Palmon, it's alright. I'm not saying I don't care about Wizardmon. I'm saying that we probably shouldn't leave the digimon like this."

Centarumon said somberly, "Even if it did. There's no guarantee that he would retain his memories. The Wizardmon you find may not be the one you lost."


	45. An Uneasy Peace

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

Author's Notes: Hello and Happy Thanksgiving from...wherever I am. I think it's a house. Welcome to another installment of the The Tamer - A Digimon Adventure. I'd like to thank everyone who left reviews, favorited and followed the story. I love reading your feedback and hearing your thoughts, and just generally knowing that you guys like the story. Special thanks to Ace Spiritwell for creating the cover art, as well as other fan art for this story; as well as Belendigievolution who has made fan art as well. Check out their fanfiction profiles and deviantart accounts! Okay, let's not waste any more time and start the show!

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 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 45: An Uneasy Peace**

Sora sighed from relief when the digimon finally stopped fighting each other. Or rather, when the Agumon and Leomon regained control of themselves. Rather than keep fighting, they went of the defensive in an attempt to talk to Centarumon and the other digimon. When they wouldn't listen, they tried retreating. The Gekomon of ShogunGekomon's army refused to let them leave and gave chase when they tried. So they were forced to fight. Lillymon, Zudomon, and Garudamon did all they could to keep the two sides separated but it meant nothing when both sides were so intent on fighting each other. So the Agumon made more attempts to appease the Gekomon.

"We don't want to fight!"

"Stop!"

"On my honor, I swear that this is not a trick. We don't want to hurt anyone!" Leomon pleaded with Centarumon. Centarumon raised his hand to signal the other digimon under his control, "STOP!"

The cries of battle died down as everyone stopped where they were in surprise, weapons still at the ready to attack but awaiting for Centarumon's order. The Agumon retreated behind Leomon and Andromon who stood at the ready while Centarumon kept his arm cannon trained on them, "Your honor? Is that what you swear on? After you attacked us? Kidnapped the digidestined? Used them as hostages!"

"That wasn't us! We couldn't control ourselves. Puppetmon used us!"

Centarumon scoffed, "Puppetmon. Then why aren't you being controlled now?"

"It means the others beat him!" Sora called out, "Matt, Garurumon, TK, Angemon, all of them!"

Centarumon gave an expectant look to the digidestined so Joe clarified, "They went with Wizardmon during the fighting to go stop Puppetmon! Look! There's something in the forest! I bet it's them right now!"

He pointed out a soft glow of light growing larger as it drew closer through the trees. Joe and Zudomon went to meet the others excitedly, but it quickly turned to panic when they saw two Gekomon carrying an injured Wizardmon with them. Through his body was half of a spear, similar to those used by the Gekomon. Angewomon followed shortly, holding Kari in one arm an little blue bat in the other. The bat struggled and shouted again, "LET ME GO YOU STUPID ANGEL! YOU'RE A TRAITOR IS WHAT YOU ARE!"

Angewomon gave no answer and set Kari to the ground so she could speak with Joe, "Joe! Please! You have to help Wizardmon!"

"Huh, me?" Joe pointed at himself in disbelief. Everything he knew, he picked up at his dad's clinic but this was something far beyond him. Just from looking at the wizard, he could tell that there was nothing he could do. It was far beyond his skill and ability. He had to look into Kari's teary eyes as he mumbled, "I don't know if there's anything I can do."

Kari hung her had to hide the tears coming down from her face, "No…don't say that."

Joe wanted to offer her some consolation but nothing came to mind. Although Angewomon's face was concealed behind her helmet, it was obvious she was just as devastated. Without warning, she turned on the little bat in her hand, "This is your fault! Because of you, Wizardmon is going to die!"

The bat flailed wildly in her hand, "Hey! No! Let me go!"

"Who is that?" Mimi pointed out the little bat, "It's gross."

"DemiDevimon. He's the one who did all this! He's the reason Wizardmon…" Angewomon's voice faded off before finishing. Leomon perked up excitedly, "I know that digimon, he works for Myotismon! At least he did until he disappeared."

"He was disguised as one of us," one of the Gekomon grunted as they rested Wizardmon on his side, taking care not to hurt him. As he lay there, the Gekomon commented, "He's one tough digimon. Most would have reformatted by now."

Realization struck Joe, "You won't like it, but what if we go to Primary Village? It's not a great plan but-"

"Primary Village was destroyed. It was lost early on in our fight against the Dark Masters. They wanted it known that any one who opposed them would be destroyed permanently," Centarumon said somberly, "Even if it wasn't, there's no guarantee that he would retain his memories. The Wizardmon you find may not be the one you lost."

"No," Angewomon's voice became weak with despair and Joe quietly chastised himself for his careless remark. He had to at least try something so he said, "I'll see what I can do. We'll need some gauze or bandages or something to patch up that injury. If we have any blankets, they'll need to boiled in hot water! And I'll need help to pull out the spear. Give me something I can use to cut it."

"What are you doing Joe?" Zudomon asked his partner. Joe's answer was short, "Anything I can."

A Gekomon handed him a dull knife that he used to cut the head of the spear away from the shaft. Wizardmon groaned from the pain as the spear moved through his chest. Joe apologized for the discomfort and called for some help, "Okay guys. It's just like removing a fishing hook. Now that the end's out, we just pull it out the way we went in. Is there some gauze or bandages ready?"

"Right here," a Gotsumon appeared cradling a roll of bandages in one arm and a bucket of hot water in the other. Floating inside were some cloth and gauze, "We were going to use this water for soup tomorrow, but this seems like a better use."

"Thanks. Everyone, I'll need help for this," Joe instructed the Gotsumon to use one of the hot cloths to push the spear through while he pulled from the other side. Once it was clear, they would have to apply pressure to hold the blood and work fast to dress the injury. There was a steady count to three before they gave a strong push that freed the spear, creating a sickening slick noise as blood started to pool around them. Angewomon and Kari both gasped loudly while Joe and the Gotsumon pressed as hard as they could from both sides. Each took turns wrapping bandages around Wizardmon.

DemiDevimon smirked as he watched the wizard, "Ha, serves you right you stup-GRAH!"

Angewomon squeezed down harder on the digimon, "This is your fault. I won't let you enjoy it!"

"Wait! GRAH! Hang on! ACK! Let's just talk about this!" DemiDevimon pleaded to no avail. The little bat looked around the camp for someone to appeal to but it was hard to concentrate with Angewomon's fingers digging deeper into his skin. He sought out the eyes of the digimon but all of them were paying attention to the injured wizard, and the digidestined trying to help him. No one cared about the bat in Angewomon's arms, a point the bat had long been ready to accept after he took this mission.

"We need more bandages. The bleeding's not stopping," Joe called out to the digimon. He'd resorted to pressing both of his hands on the wound to hold the flow but his hands just got wet with crimson. Some of the Gekomon and the Otamamon retreated to the camp in search of more supplies. DemiDevimon cried out again as Angewomon's grip tightened on his little body, "AH! NO!"

A Gekomon returned with more of whatever they had and Joe redressed the bandages, doing everything he could to stop the bleeding, "Come on. Come on! Hang in there."

"Wizardmon! Please hold on!" Angewomon called out to the unmoving digimon. He'd fallen silent and it had been a while since he'd made any noise. Seeing the despair this brought to the digidestined put a smile on DemiDevimon's face. He knew it was over for the wizard but the looming danger of Angewomon forced him to stifle his joy. Still, it was hard to contain his laughter and it was just as quickly ended as Kari threw her shoe at his face, "AH! What was that for?"

"You know why," Kari growled with teary eyes for Wizardmon on the ground.

This was the scene the other digidestined arrived to after their encounter with Cockatrimon. MegaKabuterimon and Angemon did their best to carry the puppet statue without damaging it. As soon as they were seen, a Gekomon pointed them out for both sides to see. There were some cheers at the sight of the defeated Dark Master but it quickly turned to silence as soon as they saw Cockatrimon and his Numemon with them.

Centarumon aimed his cannon at the poultry and it threw it's feathers up in surrender. The Numemon cowered behind the large bird while Centarumon began his questioning, "Digidestined, what is this?"

"Ugh," Matt groaned, "Why don't you cut us some slack already? We just beat Puppetmon!"

"You brought Cockatrimon before us! Your trustworthiness was in question before but this...why did you bring him here?" Centarumon demanded furiously. TK answered, "He says he can help Wizardmon! Won't you please let him?"

"He can help?" Angewomon sounded hopeful when she said that, "Cockatrimon! Can you?"

Cockatrimon looked between Centarumon's cannon and Angewomon, swallowing the lump in his throat before answering, "Y...yes."

"I don't like this," Centarumon armed his cannon, "Cockatrimon aren't known for their trustworthiness."

"He helped us beat Puppetmon. That has to be worth something," Izzy pointed to the statue Angemon and MegaKabuterimon were carrying. They set it down before the rest of the digimon to marvel at - Puppetmon frozen in a moment of panic and helplessness. Centarumon remained unconvinced and kept his weapon aimed on the chicken, "I don't trust this. If anything should happen digidestined, this will be on you."

"Yeah, thanks," Matt pocketed his hands and turned to the chicken, "So how can you help Wizardmon?"

"I can't actually help him. I don't know anything about that stuff, but I do know a way to buy him time until you can figure something out," Cockatrimon edged forward anxioisly, "Its the same way I beat Puppetmon - turn him to stone. Once you have a way to help him, I'll unfreeze him."

"No way!" Palmon refuted immediately, "How do we know you won't just turn the rest of to statues too?"

Cockatrimon made an expression that looked like a frown and struggled to put the words together for an answer, "Because...We are tired. I'm tired of running away every time other digimon show up. I'm tired of being afraid that Myotismon or the Dark Masters or someone is going to stand over me one day and try to kill me. I want it to stop. I figured the only way that'll happen is if I throw my lot in with you guys. All of you."

"You realize a few good acts don't countenance a life time of evil," Centarumon continued to keep his weapons on the chicken. It wearily answered, "I know. But it's a start. We'll do whatever we need to."

"I don't like this. He's going to freeze Wizardmon! Remember last time?" Sora stated, recalling their previous encounter. There were a few nods amongst them until Matt spoke, "Do we have any better plans? Wizardmon is running out of time."

That fact alone was enough to bring them all to pause. Cockatrimon took it as an okay and stepped towards Wizardmon cautiously, knowing that every digimon was keeping an eye on him for any sign of betrayal. With help from Kari, they rolled the wizard on to his back. His breaths were shallow and weak, desperately drawing what little air they could. Kari shook the wizard gently so that he'd open his eyes. They were lost and dazed, barely registering anything around him until Angewomon spoke, "Wizardmon. Cockatrimon is here to help. He can buy you more time, and keep you from reformatting!"

Wizardmon looked around in silence until he locked eyes with Cockatrimon. The chicken offered something like an apology before carrying out its plan, "Hey Wizardmon. I'm sorry we had to see each other again like this. Let's...catch up once you're better, okay? I'm sorry, but this next part will suck. PETRIFIER!"

Kari pulled away from the wizard as his form slowly turned to stone, spreading from his eyes to the rest of his body. Even though his face was hidden behind his cloak, he seemed oddly content with the fate before him and it showed as he fully turned to stone. A long silence followed as the digidestined and digidestined took in the fact that Wizardmon was now stone. He was okay, preserved in a near death moment, but the knowledge that there was nothing they could do for him gave them pause. The other digimon also remained quiet out of respect for the injured digimon present. It was broken only by DemiDevimon's snickers until he started screaming in Angewomon's hand again, "Ah! Hey! Stop!"

"Alright, talk DemiDevimon! You're the one who is responsible for all of this!" Angewomon growled at the unfortunate bat, thrusting him into Centarumon's face. The centaur was still anxious from the fighting and kept his cannon primed, although now it was aimed at DemiDevimon instead of Cockatrimon. DemiDevimon indignantly looked away, "I don't know what she's talking about! She's crazy, she just-"

Centarumon adjusted his aim to the side and fired his cannon straight towards a tree, incinerating it into a smoldering pile of ash. DemiDevimon's mouth fell open and be broke into a cold sweat at the display of power. Centarumon didn't aim his cannon back but did warn, "I am at the end of my rope with nonsense for today. I've tried to play the peace maker and be fair to everyone. But this has been one of the most annoying and infuriating days of my life, and we're at war! Talk right now or I _won't_ destroy you."

"What?" DemiDevimon blinked, thinking Centarumon misspoke.

"We've all fought in this war for a long time. We've all lost friends in this war and victories are always few and far between. We don't take prisoners often but when we do, there's no point in killing them - we need information on the Dark Masters. And there's plenty of digimon here who have a bone to pick with them," Centarumon's voice carried an uncharacteristic coldness that took the digidestined by surprise, "It makes death seem like a reprieve."

"You're bluffing," DemiDevimon called the centaur out in disbelief, "There's no way you would. It's like Myotismon says - you guys are on the side of the light and order and all that jazz, so you would never do anything like that!"

Centarumon and DemiDevimon stared at each other in silence until Centarumon did something no one expected. Without hesitation, he pulled DemiDevimon out of Angewomon's hand and threw him to the ground with a loud crack. Before the bat could even think to flee, the centaur slammed his hoof onto it and pinned him to the ground. He yelped in pain and pleaded to be released. Zudomon was visibly put off by this, "Centarumon, stop it!"

"When he talks," Centarumon replied, stamping his hoof on the bat again. DemiDevimon screamed out, "Gah! Stop it! I'll talk! Just stop it!"

Centarumon eased off the digimon but kept his hoof firmly planted on the little bat digimon, "I'm listening."

The bat eyed the centaur curiously before gazing over at Leomon with an evil smirk. The idea came to him so quickly that he could only beam with pride, "I was the one who convinced Leomon to turn on you idiots!"

Surprise fell over the crowd and Leomon roared, "That's a lie!"

"Shut up and tell him the truth already! It's the one good thing you can do and you can't even do that!" Angewomon scolded the bat digimon who laughed at the mayhem he was spreading, "It's true! I told him that if he worked for us, we'd spare him and the Koromon. I guess they're Agumon now but who cares about that?"

"That's not true, is it Leomon?" an Agumon asked wearily, "You didn't actually-"

"It's not! We saw it for ourselves!" a Gekomon interrupted to defend the lion digimon, "He was disguised as a Gekomon! He's the one who's been causing all of our problems!"

"You idiots. That was all part of the plan. It would've looked real suspicious if Leomon took all the Agumon away, wouldn't it? We needed a reason for him to leave that would also make it easier for us to destroy you without suspicion. Wouldn't it? And who would suspect a Gekomon who got attacked? Haha! We've been playing you dopes for-"

"That's a lie! I didn't do that, I swear! On my honor as-"

Centarumon silenced the warrior upon aiming his cannon at him, "Enough. Leomon, your trustworthiness is already in question. DemiDevimon, shut up. You there! Gekomon. Please explain. What do you mean when you say DemiDevimon has been causing all of our problems?"

"He was disguised as a Gekomon! That's how he was able to mislead us!" the Gekomon explained, "The digidestined figured it out when he attacked Wizardmon!"

"DemiDevimon admitted to that much already. Now the question falls on the digidestined. How did they know that Gekomon was DemiDevimon?" Centarumon turned to the digidestined. He eyed Matt and MetalGarurumon specifically as he spoke, putting the two on the spot in the most inconvenient of times. Matt swallowed a lump in his throat and admitted, "We found out about it from Cherrymon. We met him in the woods and he told us that DemiDevimon disguised himself as someone we trust. We didn't know who it was, really. Leomon suspected the traitor was a Gekomon, but we had now way to prove it. We only figured it out when he attacked Wizardmon. He figured Wizardmon used to be with Myotismon and then I remembered something that Leomon said. Only digimon of the same type can tell each other apart like with the Agumon. He said he couldn't tell any of them apart and he only knew which one was Tamer's partner because they had the same personality. That got me thinking, there's no way he'd be able to recognize Wizardmon unless he'd already worked for Myotismon and knew Wizardmon from before then. He tried to play it off when I accused him. Then Wizardmon did something, some kind of magic - that's when his disguise fell apart."

Centarumon listened carefully while DemiDevimon squirmed beneath him and asked the only question he felt appropriate, "And was this Wizardmon a member of Myotismon's army?"

Matt hesitated before answering, "Yes. But he's on our side now."

Centarumon's gaze shifted from Matt to Angewomon, eyeing her with as much suspicion as he eyed DemiDevimon, "Is he? If that's the case, then that would mean that Angewomon here is-"

"I am Gatomon," she answered quickly, "I was part of Myotismon's army and I did do so many terrible things. But now I'm Kari's partner - the eighth digidestined."

Centarumon watched her carefully and then looked back at Matt before sighing. He motioned for two of the Gotsumon to take DemiDevimon away into the camp. He gave Leomon a courteous if disrespectful nod, "We will need to question DemiDevimon further. Until then, why don't we call a truce?"

"Yeah. We should help the wounded while we can," Leomon examined injured digimon around them. Centarumon made a display of facing Leomon in front of everyone, "But don't you think of trying anything, Leomon. Until this whole mess is sorted out, I think it'd be best for you to have your own camp nearby but away from us."

"I won't try anything. Now if you don't mind, we have wounded who need taking care of," Leomon walked away from Centarumon. The two camps went about taking care of their wounded while the digidestined stayed in between the two groups quietly. They moved the statues of Wizardmon and Puppetmon off to the side. Their digimon partners all regressed to their rookie forms while Angewomon reverted back to Gatomon. Gatomon and Kari stayed beside Wizardmon's statue while the others discussed what to do about Puppetmon. Matt hurriedly suggested, "We should just go ahead and smash it."

"I'm not so sure thats a good idea. Remember what Leomon said? Or what happened to Aca'dehmia? It disappeared as soon as Machinedramon turned to data," Izzy pointed out, "It'd be better for us to leave Puppetmon alone until we know why that happened and have a place for the other digimon to go."

"I feel kinda sorry for him," TK offered the puppet an apologetic look, to the surprise of the others. Patamon asked, "What's wrong TK?"

"Yeah? What gives?" Gomamon sounded more accusatory. TK looked down at his own shoes, "It was just something's he said. He sounded lonely and didn't know how to play games with more than one person. He said the other Dark Masters didn't like to have fun and it's like he didn't have friends. And you said that he was like me, Izzy. He was just a little kid."

"I said he was childish," Izzy corrected the little boy, "He's still a Dark Master and is responsible for the deaths of countless digimon."

"I can't help it. It just makes me sad, y'know?" TK's own sadness was empathized by Patamon, "Now I feel depressed about fighting him."

"What should we do about Wizardmon?" Sora tried to change the subject to something else, "You're the expert Joe."

"What else is there? There's not much else I can do! I can help with first-aid stuff, but that's about it. This was way beyond me," Joe said again with exasperation. The other digidestined looked at Wizardmon's frozen form and noticed the serene look of peace on his face. Biyomon whimpered, "It's too bad we don't have more of that thing Tamer and Agumon found in the hospital."

"Biyomon, you're a genius!" Sora gasped, taking up her partner . The bird blinked its surprise, "I am?"

"She is?" the others asked.

"Yeah! We have to find Tai! He may not know what to do but he would definitely know where to find more of them! We'd just have to find him first!" Sora's voice grew excited. Kari and Gatomon perked up upon hearing Angewomon. Matt offered the dissenting opinion, "Hey, Sora. I don't know if you remember but Andromon said he went into the ocean. Yeah, Zudomon can swim but he'll get tired after a while and it's not like any of our digimon can swim."

"Biyomon and Tentomon can fly us, right? The same with MetalGarurumon!" Sora reasoned excitedly. Biyomon became more nervous, "We can, but I don't think I can do it forever. I'd get tired if we search for too long."

"Then only a few of us should go and we'll take turns traveling between us," Izzy added nervously, "I hate it to say it, we usually need those two to fix our problems and I don't like it. But if we're going to save Wizardmon, then that is the best option."

"You can go, but I'm staying," Mimi was quiet when she said that and Gatomon took offense right away, "How can you say that? Wizardmon needs your help!"

"She's not saying that!" Palmon stared down Gatomon angrily, the two digimon butting heads in the middle of the digidestined until their partners pulled them apart. Kari said, "Gatomon! I'm sad about Wizardmon too but you can't get mad at our friends!"

"Palmon, it's alright. I'm not saying I don't care about Wizardmon. I'm saying that we probably shouldn't leave the digimon like this," Mimi nodded her head towards the two camps, "They're not fighting any more which is good, but they don't like each other either. And who know what will happen if we all leave. I want to stay to keep them from going at each other again."

Joe nodded his agreement, "She's right. Who knows what will happen when ShogunGekomon wakes up. He wasn't out here which meant he slept through the whole thing. And he wasn't very happy about Leomon before. Do you think he'll be happy to learn that Leomon is camping out just over there?"

"That's a good point. Then we'll stay too," Matt patted his partner on the head. Gabumon frowned, "Matt. We can't stay. They'll need us if MetalSeadramon shows up. I'm the only ones who can Digivolve to the Mega level!"

"I know. But who better to keep these two from tearing each other apart? Besides, it won't matter if they have Tentomon," Matt pointed at the little bug. While flattered, the insect reminded them, "I can only go the Ultimate level! I'm not that strong!"

"No, he's right. Tentomon, your attacks use electricity! And we'll be fighting in water!" Izzy remarked excitedly until Gomamon cocked his head to the side, "Yeah. If he's going, I'm not. Anyone in the water will get shocked and I'm not up for that."

Izzy assured the little digimon, "I don't think there's anything to worry about. He'd need to generate a large concentration of electrical energy to kill anything more than few feet from the strike. If anything, the dispersal of electricity would be more likely to tickle the-"

"Okay, we get it! I forgot how long winded you could be," Palmon slapped herself in the head, "So I guess two of you will come and two of you will stay."

"On further reflection, I think it should be Joe and Gomamon," Izzy pointed at the two of them and added, "Gomamon's digivolution gives him the best advantage at sea. Tentomon and I will stay here."

"Why don't you both go?" Biyomon suggested. Izzy reminded her, "Tentomon's electrical attacks could potentially harm Gomamon. Plus, we don't need more flying digimon on this expedition."

"Plus, I can talk to my fish friends to help us find Tamer and Agumon!" Gomamon could barely contain his excitement. Izzy went on, "You should go too, Matt. I know you won't want to, but MetalGarurumon is still our best chance against the Dark Masters. We'll stay here and help Mimi."

"Looking to be alone?" Matt joked, making the boy go red. He slapped the boy's back assuringly, "Don't worry about it, it's a joke. Okay, we'll go. Listen, TK. We'll be going to find Tamer and Agumon."

"You're leaving again?" TK asked quietly. Matt patted his brother's head and smiled, "I know buddy. But you'll be fine. You and Angemon did really well against Puppetmon, didn't ya? It'll hurt for a little bit, but we'll be back soon. In the mean time, I have a mission for you. Would you mind keeping Izzy and Mimi from getting too mushy over there? You wouldn't want them to get cooties, right?"

He thumbed at the two who were noticeably annoyed with the implication but TK nodded, "Ew. Okay, I'll stop them from giving everyone cooties! But promise you'll come back, okay?"

Matt tussled his little brother's hair and smiled happily.

Cockatrimon took this time to finally speak although he was timid in his suggestion, "If you guys are planning to sail the ocean, then why not take my boat? It'd be easier on all of you."

"Don't you mean Tamer's boat?" Gabumon joked, to Cockatrimon's dismay.

"I thought he crashed it," Mimi recalled the collision with the large cactus before they abandoned it. Cockatrimon grumbled something about wrecks and one of his Numemon explained, "We know. We pulled it out and patched it up as best as we could. She's seaworthy enough. How did he do that anyway?"

"He thought it was a mirage," Patamon sighed. The Numemon rolled its eyes, "Of course he did. I can't believe he beat us."

"How do you think we feel?" Sora shrugged, "So where is the boat anyway?"

Cockatrimon looked around anxiously and explained, "We hid it away from ShogunGekomon's Camp. We needed to be close to keep an eye on ShogunGekomon and Leomon. Running from the Dark Masters was bad enough, but having to avoid Leomon and ShogunGekomon was too much. We decided that it would have been better to stick close by these two - they were easier to keep track off that way."

"Oh now that I think about it, we should tell them some of us are going," Izzy ran a hand through his hair quietly, "It'd help us patch things up with Centarumon and the others if we told them the truth."

Gabumon looked over at ShogunGekomon's camp busy with digimon trying to take care of their wounded and sighed, "I think you can do that."

"Maybe we should put it to vote. I say Sora," Izzy's palms sweated only to hear a unanimous decision from the group. Mimi began, "Izzy."

"Second," Gabumon answered.

"Izzy!" they all said together.

"Fine, I'll talk to them," Izzy gulped at the prospect before him. Centarumon was agitated enough, and now he'd have to give the news that some of them would be leaving. His legs shook with each step towards their camp, so his partner rushed after him, "Izzy wait! I'll go with you."

"Thanks Tentomon," Izzy's voice managed to say as he considered the reaction he was going to get if he met them alone. If he was unlucky, there was a very good chance that he would encounter an angry digimon who wouldn't want to hear this news but that was a worse case scenario. The best case scenario was that Centarumon would be understanding.

While he left, Kari tugged on Sora's shirt for the older's girl's attention. With a wide-eyed pleading look, the little girl stated, "Sora. Gatomon and I want to go with you. Gatomon will want to help Wizardmon and I want to see Tai."

Sora could see the anticipation in her little eyes and brushed the girl's hair, "Yeah, okay. Then you and I can tell him all about how leaving was a dumb idea."

Kari's face lit up and she smiled wide, "Yeah, okay!"

* * *

Izzy and Tentomon didn't care for all the looks they were receiving as they walked through ShogunGekomon's camp. The concern and distrust was off putting enough, but the idea that they may not be welcome was unsettling. They reached his large tent to find ShogunGekomon awake and furious at a Centarumon who seemed to have just delivered the worst news, "You're telling me that he's right outside the camp!?"

"We've agreed to a truce while we sort out what happened. We have DemiDevimon captured and the guards are…questioning him now," Centarumon explained to the leader who stamped his foot angrily, "And the digidestined are responsible?"

"They seem to be convinced that it was DemiDevimon in disguise who…oh," Centarumon was startled by Izzy's sudden presence, "Why are you here?"

"We um…thought you should...um, know," Izzy scrambled to straighten his words out before clearing his throat, "Look, I know things have been weird and you're upset about Matt and Gabumon leaving earlier. So we thought we should tell you guys directly this time. Some of us will be leaving with Cockatrimon to find Tamer and Agumon. They might be the only ones with a way to save Wizardmon."

"WHAT!?" ShogunGekomon's growl came out of his mouth and the horns on the side of his head, creating a wave of energy that shook the entire tent. Izzy hastily added, "Only some of us. The rest will be staying to make sure you guys don't start fighting again. Tentomon and myself included!"

ShogunGekomon's mood remained foul, "You think we would start the fighting?"

"You're not convincing me you won't," Izzy said, and he instantly regretted those words leaving his lips. He watched ShogunGekomon's scowl grow more intense before he calmed down enough to take a seat, "So…how long until they return?"

"However long it takes for them to find those two. They have a whole ocean to search," Izzy pointed out. ShogunGekomon closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as if attempting to calm himself more. He continued, "Very well. Go, find those two and bring them here so that I can yell at them myself. Oh, and one more thing: is that girl here? The one with the beautiful singing voice."

"You mean Mimi? Yeah, she'll be staying," Izzy said. ShogunGekomon grumbled again, "Good, you may go."

Izzy and Tentomon took off as quickly as they came, not wanting to linger any longer on the off chance that ShogunGekomon might bite their heads off.

* * *

The digidestined departed early in the morning. With help from Garudamon, MegaKabuterimon, MetalGarurumon, and their angel digimon, they were able to carry Cockatrimon's massive boat across the void between the two zones of Spiral Mountain. They took a moment to check that the ship was stable before starting her engines. Despite her shabby appearance, it was still seaworthy enough to level off before heading off into the ocean. Once they were safely on the sea, MegaKabuterimon and Angemon bid them good bye before returning to the ocean zone. Joe, Sora, Kari, and Matt checked their digivices one last time to make sure they were on the right track before heading out in search of both Tamer and Agumon.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Will the digidestined be able to find Tamer and Agumon? Can the others keep ShogunGekomon's and Leomon's groups from turning on each other again? Find out on the next installment of The Tamer - A Digimon Adventure due out in one week on Friday, December 2 5 PM CST. If you loved it, let me know in the review sections! I make a point of replying as soon as the website will let me which is usually a day or two. Guest reviews need to be signed in order to receive replies in the next author's notes. And hey, why not favorite or follow the story? That's all for now! Let's do previews from the next chapter!

"Stop! Talking!" MetalSeadramon shouted, "Were here to destroy you!"

"I'm bored out of my mind," Biyomon complained, folding her wings and tapping her legs impatiently

"But if a digidestined like you can't trust that someone like Cockatrimon or the Numemon can change then what hope do I have?" Gatomon said glumly.

Tamer grunted, "You missed."

"WarGreymon is fighting for his life and you're just lying here on the beach!"


	46. Searching the Ocean

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Good evening dear readers and welcome to another chapter of the The Tamer - A Digimon Adventure. I want to leave a big thanks to those of you who left reviews, favorited and followed the story. I love reading your feedback and hearing your thoughts, and just generally knowing that you guys like the story. Special thanks to Ace Spiritwell for creating the cover art, as well as other fan art for this story; Check out their fanfiction profiles and deviantart accounts! Okay, let's not waste any more time and start the story!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 46: Searching the Ocean**

WarGreymon glided over the endless ocean in total silence while Tamer rode atop his back. He didn't ask why Tamer wanted to leave or where he planned on going - he'd known him long enough to know when he wanted to be alone and if something was a sore subject. But to want to go somewhere the others couldn't follow and where he would have no idea what would happen to the others? It left him wondering just what he'd missed while he was unconscious. Of course, Tamer was reluctant to actually say anything about it. He mentioned the Machinedramon was defeated and that Aca'dehmia was lost yet again, but WarGreymon could see that from the fact that the entire section of the Digital World was turned into an empty void of nothing.

They traveled for half of a day and landed on a secluded island with nothing but empty water in all directions. There were a few palm trees bearing coconuts which would give them something to eat but that didn't stop WarGreymon from going out into water for fish - coconuts just weren't filling enough for him. Tamer just collapsed on the sandy beach and stared up into the sky - a few times he would flail wildly and growl out nonsense but it always ended with him flopping on his back again to stare up at the sky.

The serenity was a welcome change of pace from the last few days of chaos they endured - Myotismon's invasion, the Dark Masters. It seemed they hadn't had a break in a while. It all ended when a single beam of light struck the sand between them. Neither flinched but they did look up to see the source of destructive power - MetalSeadramon and a pack of twelve amphibious blue digimon wearing dive suits - Divermon. Tamer grunted, "You missed."

"It was a warning shot Digimon Tamer! We're here to destroy you!" MetalSeadramon's voice boomed throughout the ocean. WarGreymon and Tamer swapped annoyed glances, confused about the obvious question, "Then why didn't you just shoot at us? Why the warning shot?"

"Because I wanted you to know that we were the ones who destroyed you when you died!" MetalSeadramon growled.

"A plan that's incredibly dumb because we'd be too dead to know that you'd destroyed us, which would've saved us this painful conversation. Now go away. I'm not in the mood," Tamer moaned without once looking away from the sky. WarGreymon chastised his partner, "They came this whole way to see us. Shouldn't we be polite?"

Tamer looked at MetalSeadramon once, "I wanted to be alone and then these guys show up! So no."

"I'm going to destroy you!" the serpent growled in frustration.

"You're not doing a good job of it," Tamer remained on the ground, "Look, if you're going to kill us then do it already. We're not exactly fighting back."

"Hey! I don't want to die!" WarGreymon took offense, "If you want to, then fine but don't drag me down with you."

"Why are you afraid? They haven't done anything to hurt us since they showed up!" Tamer gestured from the ground as he mocked the digimon, "If they were going to kill us, they'd be competent and just do it already. The fact that they haven't can only mean they aren't. Or they're actually trying to _bore_ us to death. Which might actually work better than anything else they do."

"Stop! Talking!" MetalSeadramon shouted, "Were here to destroy you!"

"Yeah, well, you're failing," WarGreymon observed.

"Pretty badly too," Tamer added, "That was good WarGreymon."

"Thanks, I thought so too," WarGreymon took a bow. They'd struck a nerve and MetalSeadramon commanded of his digimon, "KILL THEM!"

The blue digimon in scuba gear charged ahead, waxing out of the water towards the pair - one waist deep into the water and the other casually lying on the sand. With minimal effort, WarGreymon knocked them all back into the water and walked back quietly to rejoin Tamer, "That went about as well as I'd have thought."

"Good job, WarGreymon. You missed one," Tamer laughed, scooping up a handful of sand. Without getting up, Tamer threw the sand forward. The dust scattered with the wind but a single stone stayed on target to strike a Divermon on the head. It yelped and fell back into the water with a splash. MetalSeadramon growled while WarGreymon asked, "That was dumb, having Divermon attack us on dry land. Have any other great ideas? Oh, I know. Why not have a Drimogemon attack me while I'm in the air."

"Maybe he'll have Airdramon follow you underground," Tamer commented. MetalSeadramon's growl grew louder, "RIVER OF POWER!"

"Whoops!" Tamer rolled out of the way into WarGreymon's arms, and the two were in the air. MetalSeadramon roared at his soldiers, "KILL THEM!"

"Time to go!" Tamer cheered, pumping his fist as they both fled the tiny island. The Divermon dove into the water and began their pursuit. From the water, there was little any of them could besides keep the pair in sight. This left MetalSeadramon no choice but to actively pursue the pair himself in the air, "YOU TWO CAN'T RUN FROM ME FOREVER!"

"Are you kidding? That's all we've ever done!" Tamer laughed.

* * *

Sora leaned over the side of the ship and looked out into the sea. Cockatrimon remained in the ship's bridge for the duration of their search and his Numemon kept to themselves in either their private quarters or by maintaining the ship through cleaning and repairs. She had to hand it to the little slugs for doing their best at keeping the place in such good condition which was a surprise after the shape they'd left the ship in.

Matt occupied his time playing his harmonica for Gabumon and Biyomon. Gatomon spent her time on the bowsprit of the ship, swiping her claws at any fish that would splash out of the water for food while Kari cheered excitedly. Joe still hadn't quite overcome his seasickness and had to retreat to the back of the ship where he hurled uncontrollably onto the foamy brine below. Gomamon helped his partner the only way he knew how, by massaging his back to help ease the nausea - though even he had to turn his nose away at the smell.

Every hour, a Numemon came down to talk to one of the Digidestined and make sure they were still on the correct course. It had only been half a day but the endless water in all direction made it seem like an eternity had passed on the endless ocean. In that time, they hadn't encountered any danger - no Dark Masters, no subordinates, no betrayal from Cockatrimon or his Numemon. Trusting them was hard but it was easy to do since they seemed genuinely intent on making up for the past. It left her wondering just how bad things must've gotten for them in the time they were away that they'd practically turned over a new leaf.

Sora was pulled from her thoughts by Matt, "Hey, Sora."

"What is it Matt?" she answered just as a gust of wind sprayed them with mist.

"Have these Numemon said anything to you? I mean, besides asking if we're going the right direction," Matt pocketed his hands nervously. Sora shook her head, "No. They just kinda work. It's weird."

"Totally," Matt commented as a pair of Numemon hurried past with bucket and rags, "It makes you wonder just what happened to them."

There was a pause between them after that until Matt asked, "So, I never got a chance to ask this and it's been bugging me a while."

"What's up?" she asked anxiously, not sure where Matt was going with his question, "You knew Tamer and Agumon were going to be leaving. It's pretty easy to figure that since you said they wanted space. That means that he would have had to have told you about it. So why didn't you tell any of us?"

Sora hung her head guiltily and tried to summon the courage to answer the question, "It's because he wanted some time alone and he was worried you guys would try to stop him. Something about seeing the past brought up some bad memories and he needed time to deal with it."

"No duh we'd try to stop him. He bailed on us," Matt crossed his arms his arms furiously but he cooled down after a deep breath, "After that…whatever it was we saw…I guess I'd want space too. Not to mention what happened to SkullGreymon. I mean wow! Izzy said our digimon digivolve using our emotions or energy or whatever. So how messed up do you have to be to turn Agumon into that?"

"Hey," Sora shot him a disgusted look and Matt apologized, "Sorry. Right. You guys were friends when you were younger. Man, you two must've been really close to get worked up like that when he can't even remember you."

"He was my best friend," Sora reminded him. Matt nodded, "Yeah, I get it. Here's what I don't get though: you're still so…loyal after everything he's put us through. But he's a grade A jerk. Why is that? If it were my guess, I'd say you had a crush on the guy."

Sora's face flushed, "I don't! Its just weird to see him back after he's been dead. I was hoping he'd recognize me but he didn't. And that memory, the past we saw, said that he'd lost all his memories. The thing is, he remembers Kari...he won't admit it but some part of him does remember. That's why he cares so much about her. And if he can remember her, maybe he can remember other things too."

"Yeah, you had a crush on him," a sneaky grin made its way to his face which earned him a hard smack in the chest. Matt grunted and rubbed the sore spot, "Ow! Man you hit hard for a girl."

"Now who's the jerk? And I don't have a crush on him! I just want my friend back," Sora said with her hands on her hips. Matt took the hint and apologized for teasing her about it, still rubbing the spot on his chest. In that time, a fish rose out of the water before Gatomon and she stabbed it with her claws, "Yeah! Fish is on the menu!"

Kari clapped, jumping up and down in excitement. That all died out when the horn of the ship blared and Cockatrimon's voice echoed on the microphone, "All you boys get over to the bow! Smoke column sighted ahead!"

Sora and Matt swapped worried glances before asking the same question, "Which part is the bow?"

They followed a mess of Numemon running towards the front of deck where they saw a thick column of black smoke rising up in the distance. As they drew closer, they saw a small island burned in flames so hot they could feel the heat from the ship. When they were close enough to make out the rocks on the island and the trunks of the burning trees, they could see burn marks on the sandy beach and holes in the ground that looked like fighting took place. A Numemon asked, "What do you guys think happened?"

Another Numemon elbowed the first, "What do you think? We're looking for Agumon and The Digimon Tamer. This means we're on the right track!"

Gatomon leered at the two slugs when she noticed Kari's face sink at the sight. Without looking at anyone in particular, Kari asked, "Do you think they're okay?"

"Knowing those two, I'd be more worried about whoever tried to fight them," Gabumon noted as a piece of black drift wood floated past. This didn't help Kari's spirits at all, so Sora put a hand on the girl's shoulder assuringly. The little girl reached out for the source of affection and hugged it close, "I hope we find them soon."

Sora double checked her digivice to make sure they were still going in the correct direction. The fact that Tamer and Agumon were still somewhere ahead of them had to mean that they were alright. She had no idea what had happened in the two days since those two left - but it sure looked like they'd gotten themselves into some serious trouble again. If she remembered what Izzy said correctly, the ocean zone was MetalSeadramon's turf.

They continued on course for the rest of the day and into the night. Occasionally, they would pass another island in flames which had to be a better sign that they were close. Cockatrimon retired to his quarters to sleep with half of his crew while the other half took the night watch. The digidestined decided it was time to get some rest and forget what they'd witnessed although they each agreed that someone had to stay in case the Numemon or Cockatrimon tried anything. Joe couldn't do it because of his seasickness so Sora took the first watch with Biyomon.

The little bird digimon had a hard time staying awake and the ship's gentle rocking motions made her sleepy. To keep herself awake, she started bouncing up and down the hall playfully while humming to herself. Sora watched her partner with mild amusement since it gave her something else to do. After hours, Gatomon came out into the hall to join them, "Hey guys. What are you doing?"

"Oh, Gatomon," Biyomon paused her bouncing to watch the cat digimon lean against the wall. Sora pointed out, "You should be asleep. It'll be your turn to take watch in a few hours."

"I couldn't sleep," the cat rubbed her tired eyes and stared back at Sora, "I keep thinking about Wizardmon. How are you two holding up?"

"I'm bored out of my mind," Biyomon complained, folding her wings and tapping her legs impatiently, "I want to think we're getting closer but they have a two day head start on us and we have no idea what's going on with them. I want to be worried, but I'm also mad because we really would have needed their help with everything that happened!"

Gatomon nodded and laughed, "Yeah, I hear that. Those two always cause problems. Still, it's better to have them on your side than not. Believe me, those two are big trouble when you're against them."

"I guess," Biyomon sounded unsure, "Gah! I'm tired of waiting. Can't we make this ship go any faster?"

"We could go ask but I think we should wait until Matt's turn for watch," Sora pointed out to Biyomon's displeasure, "Come on Sora!"

"We can't leave the others alone while they're sleeping. I want to trust them since they've helped us out with Puppetmon and finding Tamer. But they nearly turned us all into statues last time," Sora reasoned quietly. Biyomon looked up and down the empty hall, "If they really were going to hurt us, why would they help us find the two people who would kill them on sight?"

"Okay, good point. Still, I just want to be cautious," Sora frowned. Biyomon sighed and returned to bouncing around to keep herself occupied. Gatomon watched the bird anxiously before asking Sora, "What was it like when your friend died? I mean, I know he's not dead but what was it like when you thought he was dead?"

Sora looked into the cat's eyes and figured she was talking about Wizardmon. Her friend was dying in front of her and there was nothing she could do about it - turning him to stone bought time, but they still didn't have a way to help him. She thought about what she could remember from that time years ago and answered, "I remember feeling devastated. I didn't want to think he was dead, especially because we'd fought just a few weeks before about him throwing up in my hat. I told him I'd rather see him die than forgive him. I felt awful when he actually did _die_."

"Wow," Gatomon's eyes widened in disbelief, "And you're a digidestined."

"And you used to work for Myotismon," Sora reminded that cat. Gatomon lowered her gaze and frowned, "You're right. I'm sorry, I shouldn't judge. After everything I did, I guess this is what I deserve - losing my best friend."

"No, I'm sorry," Sora was quick to apologize to the cat for bringing up what was obviously a sore spot in her memory. She added, "No one deserves that. And yeah, you worked for Myotismon but that doesn't make you a bad digimon. You're also Kari's partner and you're helping us fight the Dark Masters. You're trying to be better and not just because you want to make up for your past. You want to be a better digimon."

"But if a digidestined like you can't trust that someone like Cockatrimon or the Numemon can change then what hope do I have?" Gatomon said glumly, her ears angling down to mirror the saddened look of her brow. Sora hung her head shamefully, "I guess I'm being a little hard on them."

"You think?" Gatomon's sarcasm was hardly appreciated here. She stretched her arms, "Gatomon, do you mind keeping the watch by yourself until we get back?"

"No, I probably won't be sleeping much anyway," the cat admitted as she unfurled herself. Biyomon cheered and joined Sora in finding the cabin. It was difficult to remember the path there in the dark and they took a few wrong turns into the crew's quarters and the kitchen. There were plenty of Numemon still awake this late, many of them working on making breakfast for the next morning or doing maintenance on other parts of the ship.

When they finally did find the bridge, they found four Numemon at the controls - one at the wheel, two more going over a map, and the last one looking ahead with a pair of binoculars. All four seemed distraught when they saw Sora and Biyomon. Each nervously inched away from the door and them. The one furthest away happened to be the one with the binoculars and was the only one brave enough to say anything, "Hi."

"Hiya!" Biyomon's greeting left Sora envious that she could be so warm to them, "We were just wondering if we could get this ship going faster. All this waiting is making me bored!"

"Not this late at night," the Numemon explained nervously, motioning to his binoculars, "Out at sea, we'll be spotted right away if we have any external lights on. That means that we're navigating blind. I'm trying to scout ahead but we can't see too far ahead when the moon is our only light."

"We think it should be safe. We should be out in open waters so we're not going to crash into anything but it also means we can't see MetalSeadramon or his goons until they're on top of us," another Numemon pointed out nervously, "Which means we'll have to be careful going forward if we don't want to run into trouble."

"It's been a while since we last checked. What's our heading?" the Numemon at the wheel asked. Sora checked her digivice and was surprised to see that they were no longer on course, "That way, a little to the right."

The ship corrected itself towards Sora's direction and a Numemon made a point of marking the map. The two slugs did some quick math to Biyomon's amazement, "What are you guys doing?"

"Adjusting our course on the map to make sure we are where we think we are," one replied as they began tracing a line. Although it was hard to see, Sora could faintly make out a pencil drawn line across the map that bent and curved almost randomly from some point at the edge of the water to another point in the center of an archipelago. The Numemon looked to each other excitedly, "This is good."

Sora looked at her partner nervously, nodding so that she understood to be on her guard before asking, "But we're going all over the place. I thought we were going in a straight line."

"We're going towards Agumon and The Tamer. If those islands earlier today tells us anything, it's that those two are running. When someone runs from something, they usually don't run in a straight line. The closer we get, the more small changes in their direction will affect our heading. The further we are, the less likely we are to need to change direction when he does," a Numemon explained proudly, "We had to shift ten degrees to the starboard side. That's a good sign that we're getting close."

Cued by the Numemon's explanation, they saw a flash of light in the distance followed shortly by an echoing boom. The Numemon's excitement turned to worry about what they could possibly be heading into - a worry that Sora shared.

* * *

The next morning proved more worrying than the night before. The flashes of light in the distance grew brighter and the thunder grew louder as they drew closer. When the sun rose, it was to see an unwelcome if familiar sight. Looming in the distance stood the lone Infinity Mountain at the center of File Island, surrounded by several columns of smoke rising high into the air. A serpentine figure circled the island from the skies, pursuing another smaller figure in some sort of lethal dance.

Kari pointed out the sight, "Look! Is that them? Is that Tai and Agumon!?"

A Numemon used a pair of binoculars to examine the figures and commented, "It's MetalSeadramon! And...a WarGreymon?"

"That's him! We've caught up!" Kari's said excitedly as the Numemon went on, "Yeah. It looks like he's lying on the sand. And he's not moving."

Kari gasped in shock while Gatomon barked, "We have to hurry!"

While they heard the engines roar to life, they instead felt the ship start to slow instead of accelerate. Biyomon asked, "What gives? Our friends are in trouble!"

"We're on a ship!" Cockatrimon appeared beside them with ruffled feathers, "If we get anywhere near that, we're sunk. We have lifeboats, but that would make us sitting ducks. We could use your digimon, but there's too many for all of us to make it out. I'm sorry, but this ship is going to back away from that."

Sora hated his points but couldn't argue against them. She nodded at her partner, then said to Matt and Gabumon, "It looks like we're on our own! Let's go Matt, Gabumon!"

"Right!" Gabumon pumped the air with his fist, "Gabumon! Warp Digivolve to! MetalGarurumon!"

"Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

"Birdramon! Digivolve to! Garudamon!"

They hurried to WarGreymon's aid as he and MetalSeadramon continued their deadly battle in the skies above File Island. Below, they could see a large mass of marine digimon they hadn't seen before watching with bated breath. MetalSeadramon roared, "Stand still and let me kill you!"

"Like it'll help," WarGreymon mocked the serpent. Angered, the Dark Master commanded, "Attack him you idiots!"

"But boss, we don't have anything that'll hit that high up," a digimon shouted, "You'll need to lure him down here."

"I think persistence is a good thing! Have the digimon who can't get out of the water fight the digimon who can fly! If it didn't work the first time, it'll work the next hundred, right?" WarGreymon retorted with so much sarcasm that MetalSeadramon visibly recoiled. Enraged, he attacked from the cannon mounted on his snout, "River of Power!"

"Ice Wolf Claw!"

"Wing Blade!"

A spray of rockets exploded all around them, creating a cloud of smoke thick enough to hide the blade of fire that cut through the air. MetalSeadramon saw it too late to dodge it and was hit square in the chest. As the serpent fell out of the sky, WarGreymon questioned the new arrivals, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Looking for you," MetalGarurumon answered, "Why isn't Tamer helping?"

WarGreymon motioned below them on the beach, "He's on the beach - he didn't want to be bothered."

"What!?"

"You're kidding! You're fighting a Dark Master and he's just on the ground watching," Matt criticized angrily. MetalGarurumon pointed out, "It's no different from what you guys do."

"Yeah but..." Matt paused to think about his response and couldn't think of anything. Sora answered for him, "At least we're here to cheer you guys on."

"River of Power!" The beam of light parted the smoke and gave them a clear view of MetalSeadramon charging straight at them at full speed, "Don't you ignore me!"

They maneuvered out of his path and WarGreymon returned to battle. Garudamon and MetalGarurumon followed after them, staying close and taking shots at MetalSeadramon whenever they had the chance. As they flew around, Sora saw Tamer lying on the beach with his arms behind his head.

Sora grunted her disapproval and pointed him out for their digimon. MetalGarurumon and Matt decided to help WarGreymon while Sora handled the boy below. Garudamon's landing kicked up a cloud of sand that scattered across the beach - something Tamer didn't even react to. As soon as Sora dismounted her partner, Garudamon rejoined the fight above. She hurried towards Tamer and noticed the hood of his robes were raised to conceal his face. He looked like he was sleeping at first until he spoke, "Go away. I want to be alone."

"Nice to see you too, Tamer," Sora answered sarcastically with her hands on her hips. Tamer raised his hood slightly so that he could look at her before shaking his head in disapproval, "Hi Sora. Not right now."

"WarGreymon is fighting for his life and you're just lying here on the beach!"

"Is that what all the noise is?" Tamer grunted without looking at her, before changing his tone, "All I want is to be alone and I couldn't even get that - MetalSeadramon wouldn't stop chasing us at all. We ran for a while and got chased all the way out here. Along the way, he destroys every island we stop to rest at. That was why we ended up here and we couldn't abandon this island because it's too important. So I've been trying to think of a way to beat MetalSeadramon while WarGreymon buys time. Truth is, I couldn't think of any way to beat him with just the two of us. And now you're here which adds to the things I don't want to deal with right now. Especially since all I wanted was to be ALONE FOR A WHILE!"

Sora noted that he shouted the last part and returned it with a sharp, "Well we're here now, like it or not. Deal with it. Is there anything we can do to help?"

Tamer perked up upon considering this fact and pointed out across the sea, "Well, we can't kill MetalSeadramon just yet. Leomon said the regions are tied to the controlling digimon - killing MetalSeadramon would destroy the entire ocean and any digimon in it. You wouldn't happen to have a giant cage we could trap him in, would you?"

"We have a boat," Sora mumbled quietly. Tamer raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "A boat? In the forest? Not the weirdest thing I've seen. Where'd you find it? Well, in the forest I guess. How'd it get there?"

Sora became apprehensive and demanded, "First, you have to promise you're not going to hurt anyone or get mad."

Tamer pointed at MetalSeadramon, "It's too late for that. He's hurt and I'm mad at him."

"Tamer," Sora reprimanded him sternly and Tamer relented, throwing up his hands defensively, "Okay. I swear. So where did you find a boat in the forest?"

"Cockatrimon and his Numemon showed up. They agreed to give us a hand if we talked to you about forgiving them," Sora explained, taking a step back in anticipation of some kind of outburst. Tamer mumbled something under his breath as another explosion above echoed like thunder. He rubbed his hands together and answered, "The one who turns digimon to stone? Wait a second, we crashed that ship in the desert! What was it doing in the forest. Hang on. I just had an idea."

"And what is that?" Sora didn't like the sudden look in his eye. He put his fingers in his mouth and whistled so sharply that she had to cover her ears. Instantly, WarGreymon slammed into the beach beside them and grunted, "Finally. What's the plan?"

With his usual manic flare, Tamer instructed, "Sora, take Garudamon and have Cockatrimon go full speed towards the shore. Straight ahead, no matter what; ram through anything that gets in his way. He's going to need to be up close and personal with MetalSeadramon."

WarGreymon understood where he was going right away, "Cockatrimon? What ship? Oh! I get it. Okay, we'll keep him busy. What's the signal?"

"I'll tell you when the time's right," Tamer started climbing on to his back, awkwardly digging his feet in between WarGreymon's armor and skin. Sora stifled a laugh as WarGreymon protested being climbed on. She tried to wrap her head around Tamer's plan and couldn't make heads or tales of it, "So what are we doing?"

"We're going to slam the ship into MetalSeadramon. He's impossible to kill as he is - even with MetalGarurumon and Garudamon helping. He's too strong, but turn him to stone and he'll be easy pickings. We'll need Cockatrimon to get close but MetalSeadramon will never allow it. Ergo, the ship. That should knock MetalSeadramon around and get Cockatrimon close enough to turn him into stone," Tamer said quickly, offering his hand to help Sora climb on. While he helped her, she asked, "Wait! Won't that destroy the ocean zone?"

"We're not killing him," Tamer remarked as WarGreymon squatted into a launch position.

WarGreymon's take off was so fast that Sora felt the wind slam into her face with unbelievable force at his speed. In the clouds high above, MetalGarurumon and Garudamon were doing their best to split MetalSeadramon's attention. It worked since he'd focus on one and the other would take that chance to get in a cheap shot, which would divert his attention enough to let the other get their own shot. WarGreymon flew in close over Garudamon and Sora called out to her partner. With MetalSeadramon still on the rampage, it was hard for her to switch over to Garudamon so they'd have to do it in the heat of battle. Tamer encouraged her to jump on to her partner but the height made Sora freeze in place. Sweat beaded on her face and palm when she saw just how far down the waters below were. Breathing became difficult when a lump formed in her throats that she had to force down with a hard swallow.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Sora mumbled under her breath. Tamer put a hand on her shoulder and said, "You'll be fine! Trust me! It's not that high up. Just jump!"

"Are you kidding?" Sora remarked with enough sarcasm to make him laugh.

"Good point!" as he spoke, a beam of light shot past them and MetalSeadramon roared, "River of Power!"

"I don't think I can do this," Sora found herself clinging on to WarGreymon for dear life. Tamer patted her back, "Yes you can. Here, let me help!"

Before Sora could respond, she felt Tamer push her forward. The sudden falling sensation took her by surprise and she couldn't hold back her own scream, "THIS IS NOT HELP!"

"Sora! I've got you!" Garudamon called out, turning in the air and catching her in her arms. As soon as she made contact, Sora tightened her grip on Garudamon's feathers and held on for dear life. The giant bird scowled at the two, "Why would you do that?"

"Because I trusted you to catch her," Tamer said goofily with his dumb grin that made Sora's blood boil in anger, "Sora, you know what to do. Let's go WarGreymon!"

"Good luck!" WarGreymon answered before zipping off to punch MetalSeadramon from the side. Sora grunted her disapproval and called out told Garudamon, "Sometimes, he's the biggest jerk I know."

"No kidding. What are they doing, anyway?" Garudamon asked. Sora pointed back out across the ocean towards Cockatrimon's ship, "Creating a distraction. We have to head back to the ship. I need to talk to Cockatrimon!"

"What about Matt and MetalGarurumon?" Garudamon pointed them out just as they narrowly avoided getting eaten by MetalSeadramon. As the pair turned to take a swipe at his slender body, Sora remarked, "They'll be fine. At least, they'll be able to keep up with him. Quick, let's go to the others!"

They departed for the ship just as WarGreymon managed to lead the serpent in circles long enough for him to tie himself in a knot. Flying over the ocean, they noted the swarms of digimon still watching the fight in the skies above - they seemed mesmerized by the display and hardly registered either of them. They returned to the ship without incident and were hurriedly greeted by Kari and Gatomon.

"Is Tai alright?"

"He'll help Wizardmon won't he?"

While the two peppered Sora with questions, she scanned the deck for Cockatrimon. Joe had moved from the back of the ship to the front but still retched over the side inconsolably. Gomamon was offering his partner comforting words while Cockatrimon massaged his back to help ease the nausea. Without a word, Sora dashed past the others, "Cockatrimon!"

The chicken froze at the sound of her voice, anxiously looking her way in anticipation of bad news, "Yes? How can I help?"

"Tamer said to go full speed towards the island, no matter what," Sora said to the chicken's surprise, "He wants you to ram MetalSeadramon, then turn him to stone."

Cockatrimon frowned at the command and reasoned, "There are about fifty or so Divermon between us and them, and I'm betting they all work for MetalSeadramon. They'll attack us before we get close!"

"Do you really want to tell him no?" Sora asked Cockatrimon expectantly. The chicken shook nervously when he answered, "Okay. But this ship isn't in the greatest shape. A few good hits and we're sunk."

"Leave that to us," Garudamon answered proudly, "We'll keep them off you!"

"That's right! We can!" Gomamon added, "Think you can help me digivolve Joe?"

"Yes," Joe managed to say before retching over the edge of the ship. Cockatrimon raised an eyebrow, "What exactly are you throwing up? You haven't eaten in a while."

Joe answered by retching more overboard. Cockatrimon patted the boy on the back and headed for the bridge, "Let's go! Come on you dogs! Full speed ahead!"

"I hope Tamer knows what he's doing," Gatomon mumbled quietly as the ship lurched forward, gaining speed and hurrying for the army of digimon ahead of them.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Will the plan to beat MetalSeadramon work? Can Joe overcome his seasickness? Just what will the Divermon do? Find out all this and more in the next installment of The Tamer - A Digimon Adventure which will be out next week on Friday December 9th 5 PM CST! If you liked it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism and guesses as to where the story is going. I always make a point of replying as soon as the website will let me. Guest reviews need to be signed in order to receive a response in the next post-author's notes. And hey, why not follow or favorite the story?

That's enough for now, let's see previews for the next chapter!

Kari ran up to him, "Where's Tai going?"

"I thought I saw something in the water. Maybe I'm just being nervous," Matt remarked.

"Defend the ship!" one of the Numemon led the others to the attack with mops and brooms.

"You turned him into a rock. Most people don't get up from that, do they?" Agumon snarked to the derision of the others.

"I can't fly!" Cockatrimon snapped.


	47. The Temple on File Island

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hey there readers! Welcome back for another thrilling chapter of The Tamer - A Digimon Adventure. I want to apologize if this went up late. I was having issues with the site earlier and am unsure if this will upload at the normal time. For those of you in school, I hope you're having fun and doing well on finals. For those at work, hopefully you've have some time to prepare for the holidays. A big holiday thanks to everyone who read and left reviews, as well as any new readers who either read or followed the story! And a great big thanks to Ace Spiritwell who made the cover art for The Tamer - A Digimon Adventure!Let's not waste any time and get this story going.

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 47: The Temple on File Island**

Cockatrimon's ship coasted at full speed through the waves like a knife through butter. They passed by the first few marine digimon without incident, but one of them noticed and alerted the others to their presence. It wasn't long before they were being attacked on all sides by the blue amphibious digimon wearing scuba gear. Garudamon wasted no time fighting them back, flying around the ship and pulling off those trying to board it.

Gomamon dove in to hold them off with the help of his fish friends but was outclassed due to the difference in levels. Joe managed to fight his own nausea to cheer Gomamon on but failed half way through and vomited out overboard onto an unsuspecting digimon. It panicked and threw itself off, "ACK! WHAT IS THIS!? IT SMELLS!"

Despite that, Gomamon was able to digivolve to Ikakumon and could better hold his own at that level. Still, a few managed to score a few lucky hits by digging their harpoons into the hull of the ship. Amidst the fighting, the Numemon scurried around to fulfill their duties - plugging holes in the ship as it was damaged and using the bilge pumps to remove inflowing water. When that failed, they started using buckets and running it up to the top.

Kari watched the fighting digimon with fascination and pointed them out with a question, "Gatomon, who are they?"

"Divermon! They serve MetalSeadramon! They're fast swimmers and brutal fighters. Some digimon say they hide a great and terrible secret but no one actually knows," Gatomon answered, "They'll need help to fight back. Kari, let me get in there!"

"Okay! Go get'em Gatomon!"

Her partner leapt off the ships railing and came alight with the glow of Kari's crest, "Gatomon! Digivolve to! Angewomon!"

The angel flew up high and started picking off the Divermon on the water's surface. Realizing she was too high for them to fight back, the digimon submerged and started attacking the hull from below. Angewomon clicked her tongue in frustration, "Ikakumon! They've gone below the water, I can't get them!"

"Got it!" Ikakumon disappeared beneath the waters to drive them back up. In the skies above, Garudamon flew ahead and skimmed the surface of the water with her talons - scooping up Divermon and throwing them into the air so that hitting the water would be as painful as hitting the ground. As the number of Divermon increased, the three digimon found it harder to protect the ship and the deck was breached. The Divermon boarded, armed with their harpoons and ready to fight.

"Defend the ship!" one of the Numemon led the others to the attack with mops and brooms. Against the Divermon's harpoons, they were helplessly cut down and killed. They spread out across the ship and made their way toward the digidestined. Seeing the imminent danger, Sora helped Joe to stand, "We have to go Joe!"

Joe forcefully swallowed another incoming retched and limped along with Sora's help. Kari ran along side them as the Divermon gave chase, "After them!"

"Angewomon! Help!" Kari cried out. Right away, three arrows of light pierced the Divermon's chests and they disappeared into data. Angewomon flew past over their heads and stopped between the digidestined and the attackers, "Leave her alone!"

A Divermon looked from Angewomon to the children and clicked his tongue, "Forget the digidestined! Find the engine rooms! Sink this ship!"

"No, you don't!" Angewomon fired more arrows and managed to kill a few before they disappeared into the ship. From within the halls of the ship, they heard a gravelly cry, "Petrifier!"

The Divermon screamed briefly and fell quiet. Footsteps came out from the hold of and Cockatrimon appeared from the door with a determined glint in his eyes - holding a statue of a Divermon under his wing. Several Divermon came charging from the other end of the ship but stopped short of reaching the captain, who faced them with an angered gaze, "Get off my ship!"

For emphasis, he took the statue under his wing and smashed it against railing of the ship - startling the Divermon on the attack. The bird's eyes narrowed and he added, "Now!"

It was obvious the Divermon were hesitant to press the attack any further. For a moment, it looked like they would flee from the battle. It wasn't until MetalSeadramon roared out in his own battle above that they were reinvigorated to go back on the offensive, "Take them!"

"Petrifier!"

The few Divermon with their eyes open were turned to stone immediately, but a few were smart enough to cover their eyes before the attack got them. Angewomon was able to pick them off with her bow before any harm came to the digidestined. The ship rocked as more Divermon continued attacking the ship from the water and more continued to climb aboard. Cockatrimon looked to the island ahead and asked, "So, when are we supposed to turn MetalSeadramon to stone?"

"Whenever we ran him with the ship," Sora replied just as they heard the metal serpent roar, "COME BACK HERE AND FIGHT ME!"

They followed the source of the shout and found WarGreymon diving straight for the ocean with Tamer on his back. MetalSeadramon was hot on their tail, firing at them furiously, "JUST DIE! RIVER OF POWER!"

WarGreymon weaved around the attacks, still speeding towards the ocean without showing signs of slowing. Kari gasped as it seemed he would slam into the surface of the ocean, only to angle himself at the last second and instead change directions straight towards the ship. MetalSeadramon tried to follow but was unable to correct course, and instead crashed into the surface of the ocean just in front of the ship. A large wave of water rocked the ship as he barelled ahead. Cockatrimon's beak fell open at the sudden impact and declared, "Brace yourselves! Hold on to something!"

Sora helped Joe to hold onto the railing of the ship while using her one free hand to hold onto it herself. Kari latched onto her legs and Angewomon positioned herself in the air to catch them if the need arose. As MetalSeadramon arose from the ocean to reorient himself, the ship collided into him at full speed and knocked him back under the water. Everyone lurched forward and more contents of Joe's stomach managed to fly out of him - straight onto Sora's hat, "AH! JOE!"

"Sorry," he managed before he threw up again. Kari let go of the older girl, too disgusted by the smell of Joe's vomit. Sora felt chills run down her body as slimy vomit began leaking onto her. The smell was horrendous and made her gag. Without a moment's hesitation, she threw off her blue hat and shook violently, "EW! Gross! Gross! Gross! Gross! Gross! Gross!"

While the digidestined fretted, Cockatrimon hurried for the front of the ship to face off with MetalSeadramon. MetalSeadramon was disoriented both from slamming into the ocean and being struck by the ship so his eyes darted back and forth while he was trying to regain focus. For a brief moment, Cockatrimon was able to lock eyes with him, "PETRIFIER!"

"WHA-" was all MetalSeadramon was able to manage before his body turned to stone. His body flailed for a while before it went rigid and began to sink beneath the waves. Divermon hurried off the ship to assist their master's petrifying form - mostly to keep it from sinking too deep into the ocean. The digidestined cheered with their digimon while they reveled in their victory. Until a moment of awe struck them. WarGreymon circled around over head and came inlow so that Tamer could jump off and fall into a roll, before stopping at a stand, "Oomph! Nailed it!"

"Tai!" Kari hugged her older brother and took him by surprise, "Huh? Oh hey Kari! Gimme one second here. Finish it WarGreymon!"

"Great Tornado!" WarGreymon ascended high into the air and dove straight down, twirling in the air and setting it a flame from his great speed. The combined speed and force was enough to break his statue apart from the impact, scattering pieces of MetalSeadramon's statue in every direction. Panic swept through the digidestined as they realized what Tamer had done. Joe regained enough composure to answer, "What have you done? The entire zone will be destroyed! There could still be digimon here on File Island."

"What digimon?" Tamer asked. Joe motioned to the island before them, "The digimon here on File Island! Like the Yokomon or-"

"They're at ShogunGekomon's camp," Garudamon stated as she hovered beside them.

"Okay, then Centarum…Meramo…no, um…hm…" Joe put a hand to his chin and thought quietly for a moment. Ikakumon smiled, "I think all the digimon we know on File Island are at ShogunGekomon's camp!"

"Kuwagamon!" Joe pointed out. Sora sighed, "The digimon who tried to eat us when we first got here?"

"Okay, bad example - but you get my point!" Joe argued. Tamer shrugged, "I doubt we'll have much to worry about. Besides, anyone turned to stone is technically stuck in a moment of life. They don't die until Cockatrimon turns them back so we're safe. What's that smell?"

"Me," Sora admitted as she wiped off some of Joe's vomit from her. Tamer stepped away with his nose turned, "What happened to you?"

"Don't ask," Angewomon answered for her. Before he could, the world around them began to go sideways and they started slipping along the floor. This was the moment they began to realize that the ship had been severely damaged in its collision with the Dark Master. The sudden rocking motion made Joe nauseous again and he aimed himself overboard. Numemon emerged from the ship's interior and started throwing themselves overboard, "The hull is breached! She is sinking! Every digimon for themselves!"

"Salt," Joe managed before retching again. Sora was the only one to hear, "What?"

"Ocean," Joe covered his mouth, "Salt water."

Sora understood what he was trying to say and tried to stop a group of Numemon from jumping off, "Wait don't!"

It was too late as they finally jumped off and sank into the water. What should have been safety quickly turned to disaster as they screamed while shriveling up. Shortly afterwards, they turned to data and their screams died. The other Numemon were deterred from jumping and retreated from the rising water. Sora called out for her partner, "Garudamon! Can you carry the ship to shore?"

"I can try!" Garudamon latched her talons onto the side of the ship, and did what she could to help raise the sinking vessel. Angewomon picked up another side of the ship but was hardly able to make a difference when it came to keeping the ship afloat. The rocking motions of the ocean, mixed with the jolting of the digimon carrying the ship exacerbated Joe's nausea and he began making retching noises. Sora knowingly backed away to avoid being puked on again.

For his part, Ikakumon pressed himself against the ship to help level it. The weight of the ship was crushing and barely budged against his weight but he was stable enough in the water to keep it steady. MetalGarurumon set Matt down onto the sinking ship and declared, "Find some ropes, something that I can use to keep the ship up!"

"Looking! I'll be right back!" Matt ran across the tilting deck looking for something he could use to tie the ship to MetalGarurumon. Tamer motioned for WarGreymon to get to the back of the ship, "The ship is sunk! Push it to shore!"

WarGreymon disappeared to the rear of the ship and did his best to push it straight towards shore. The few Numemon who hadn't abandoned the ship right away were now cheering on the digidestined's digimon. Matt returned with some ropes and handed it to MetalGarurumon. With help from the others, they secured it to the front of the ship and MetalGarurumon used it to pull the ship. Once the ship was ashore, the Numemon leapt off and started kissing the sand jovially. Once everyone was ashore, the digimon regressed to Yokomon, Nyaromon, Agumon, Gabumon, and Gomamon. They all collapsed from exhaustion afterwards and rested. Cockatrimon did a head count of the Numemon and found that he'd lost twelve of the crew. Notably, they all kept their distance from Tamer who'd promptly lied back down and covered his face, "Finally. Alone time."

It didn't last long. Kari threw herself onto her brother in a hug, "Tai!"

Tamer grunted his disapproval, "Ow! Give me some warning."

She ignored his remark and asked, "Did you miss me Tai! Did you?"

Sora was washing the puke off her arms at the time but prepared to step in if Tamer snapped at the excitable girl, and was pleasantly surprised when he offered a smile. His answer was delayed but he did manage to respond, "Yes."

Kari's smile widened until she did something Sora never expected to see the girl do. She slapped him in the face, "That's for disappearing again you big meanie!"

"OW!" Tamer roared in frustration while Kari rolled off him. He stood up and threw off his hood, "That really hurt."

"So are you done with your alone time?" Sora asked him quietly while she started running water through her hair. He massaged his face and jumped up, "Since you're all here which can only mean you're looking for us and won't leave without us, yes. What do you want anyway?"

"It's Wizardmon! He's in trouble and needs help!" Kari said quickly, "Cockatrimon turned him to stone so that he wouldn't die but Joe says there's nothing we can do and he's not going to get better! Please! You have to help him!"

"He is?" Tamer had a curious glint in his eye, "Well, that's too bad. It's a serious tragedy. He was a good digimon. He will be missed."

"You're talking like he's already dead!" Gatomon accused him angrily, "He's not!"

"You turned him into a rock. Most people don't get up from that, do they?" Agumon snarked rudely. Sora declared, "You guys can help him, though."

Tamer pointed at himself and Agumon in disbelief, "Us? I don't know what you expect us to do about it - Joe would have a better idea than we would. Besides, he's a rock now. What are we supposed to do about a rock?"

Matt scolded him, "Come on, we came all this way to find you. You can't just give up before you even try! Why not just use that...potion thing from before?"

"Oh right, the potion! Perhaps some soup too! Cause that's how treating injuries works," Tamer's sarcasm was well off the mark and more agitated than normal. Gatomon hissed, "You're just saying that! Don't think I forgot about how you always went on about destiny. You said it yourself, Wizardmon was supposed to die!"

"Yes, he was. Somethings don't matter, others do," Tamer mumbled quietly while massaging his head.

"Wait, are you trying to let Wizardmon die?" Agumon seemed just as surprised as the others. Tamer shrugged, "It would be a step to getting us back on course, even out the odds that things will happen the way they're supposed to."

"Tai! You can't just let him die!" Kari beat her tiny fist against his leg. Tamer jumped and raised his eyebrows, "Ow! Stop it!"

"Save him! He's your friend and friends help each other out! You can't just let him die!"

"Can't I?"

"No, you can't," Kari's eyes narrowed upon her brother. In the time the two stared at each other, everyone was certain that the two siblings would end up fighting each other. Every single one of the digidestined and their digimon took a step forward in case Tamer actually did end up trying to hurt the little girl. Sora even stopped washing her hair to face him. To their surprise, he cracked a small smile and took a step back, "Okie doke. There's one thing that might work. I'll need to make a stop first and get something, though."

"What do you mean make a stop? We have to go help Wizardmon now!" Gatomon stressed to the boy who'd already started walking into the forest, "No we don't. He's a rock. He's not exactly running out of time."

"Tai!"

"Kari!" he shouted as he disappeared into the trees.

"Tamer!" Agumon called after him and got not response. The little orange dinosaur groaned in frustration and stamped his foot on the sand. Kari ran up beside him, "Where's Tai going?"

"My guess? The temple. No idea why he would," Agumon said before hurrying after his partner into the forest. Everyone swapped glances curiously and Cockatrimon waved them off, "Go after him. We'll stay here and try to get the ship patched up enough to be seawater."

"If it gets me away from water, I'll go wherever," Joe said sickly while raising his hand. Gomamon accompanied the boy away from the water and into the forest after the two. Kari and Gatomon followed suit after them in a hurry. Sora could see Matt and Gabumon going to follow and stopped him, "Matt. Would you mind waiting here?"

"What gives?" Matt asked her curiously. Sora motioned towards Cockatrimon and the Numemon, "Gabumon is the only one who can go Mega and we'll need someone to protect Cockatrimon."

"I think they can take care of themselves. Besides, MetalSeadramon's gone and his digimon ran away. We'll be fine!" Gabumon assured her despite her misgivings. Sora added, "It's not them I'm worried about. If anything happens to Cockatrimon, it'll be Wizardmon who's done for. Not to mention what Tamer said: MetalSeadramon's not dead until he gets turned back. If anything happens to him, then the ocean goes away and we're all done for."

Matt retrieved his harmonica from his pocket, "Yeah, sure. We'll wait here."

"Aw, but I wanted to go see what they were doing," Gabumon whined and kicked the sand out from underneath him. Biyomon ran ahead of them, "Don't worry! We'll tell you all about it when we get back."

Sora could hear Matt begin playing his harmonica as soon as she went after Biyomon. It didn't take them long to catch up to the rest of their group. Tamer was rambling something nonsensical to the rest of them and she could tell that they were having a hard time understanding him, "-ooths were kind of a left over, but since they're powered by the fire wall too, there's no reason to worry about it. Heck, they're not even in the temple; they're on the beach. But that's a minor problem on this island, especially since they're drawn on what could technically be an infinite power source. As a result, we have no real risk of power depletion. Instead we-"

"All I wanted to know was if there was a bathroom in the temple!" Joe grunted angrily. Tamer replied, "I'm getting to that. My point is that while the bathroom might be in a general state of disrepair from disuse, it should still have power and running water."

"Why couldn't you just say - yeah, but it might not be working?" Gomamon asked with a grumble. Tamer stopped in his tracks and faced Joe, "How boring do you think I am?"

"Can we hurry up!?" Gatomon snapped. It didn't take them long to reach the stone temple Tamer referred to. They took a moment to absorb the sight before them - its vague resemblance to the buildings of Aca'dehmia but overgrown with plants by time. Agumon commented, "They sure knew how to build em. Even when it was new, it looked old and creepy."

"So what is this place?" Sora asked aloud. Gomamon added, "Didn't Palmon say something about a temple being guarded by Centarumon?"

"Tentomon told us about it, remember?" Joe answered.

"I don't," Biyomon closed her eyes, "But she was probably here if she did."

"It's a research and development site. Or, if you prefer, a temple," Tamer replied, "It's the reason Agumon and I…well, just Agumon, was trying so hard to defend the island. With MetalSeadramon going around and blowing up everything in sight, we had to make sure he didn't destroy this place. Not until we had a chance to have a look inside."

"And what are we looking for here?" Biyomon asked aloud when they crossed the threshold into the temple. Inside was in as much as disrepair as the inside, although the lights were on and they could hear the distant noise of machinery working somewhere further in. Along the walls were more hieroglyphs although a few had been obscured by the overgrowth of plants and roots of nearby trees.

Tamer explained, "Something Leomon said has been bugging me. He said Spiral Mountain and domain. Assuming there's one domain per Dark Master - where is Spiral Mountain and why do geographical features of the mountain resemble the Digital World? Come along, but keep close. They designed this facility to be like a maze. You don't want to get lost."

"Why would they build this place like maze? Wouldn't everyone just get lost?" Gomamon commented. Tamer guided them through the entry way into the narrow halls that twisted, turned, split apart, and stopped at random intervals. He explained, "To keep out intruders. Anyone trying to sneak in would get lost, sort of like a cheap version of what was going on at Myotismon's Castle. The only ones who could navigate this place would probably work or live here - ie the Ancients."

"I thought they were the Agents or Guardians or whatever," Sora sighed. Tamer didn't responded but kept on walking.

Further into the temple, they found a room resembling a shrine. On the back wall was a stone altar with a symbol of a digivice carved into the wall behind them. Joe was astounded upon seeing the size, "Don't tell me that we're actually going to carry that thing. It's huge!"

"Imagine how big a digimon must be to need a digivice that big!" Biyomon whistled.

"What, like Whamon?" Sora asked.

"I bet it's the size of Machinedramon riding SkullGreymon while they're carried around by a bunch of MegaKabuterimon!" Kari mused aloud. Gatomon patted her partner, "I don't think we'll be seeing anything like that. I've never seen a digimon that big."

"We have," Agumon said but didn't add anymore, leaving them wondering what the two had seen. Tamer wasted no time going to work, changing hieroglyphs, erasing others, and adding new ones at random places along the wall. With each scribble, they could hear distant hum grow louder until the screen of the stone digivice came to life with light and projected an image of a conical spiral in the center of the room. The base of the cone was devoid of any surface, revealing the earthy underside of the surface of the cone. The spiral was made of four strands but only three were present. The fourth strand was vacant, exposing empty space similar to the base of the cone. Tamer's eyebrows popped in surprise, "Well…that's not good."

"What is it Tai?" Kari tugged on his white robes, "It looks like ice cream."

"It was supposed to be a real time map of the Digital World but…I guess the whole Spiral Mountain thing makes more sense," he answered before pointing out the empty space at the bottom of the cone, "I don't like the looks of that void at the bottom though. There's a whole area of the Digital World that's just empty space, which leaves a pretty big hole in reality where…wait, that explains why we saw the Digital World in the Real World. But that asks another question - if the Real World can see this place, who else can?"

"The Dark Masters wanted to change destiny, but what destiny were they trying to change?" Agumon asked, "It looks like they've done everything they were supposed to."

"Is this another one of those things where you know something but haven't told us?" Gomamon frowned.

"Yup," Tamer said as he modified a few more hieroglyphs on the wall. The temple shook briefly and everyone braced themselves for the roof to cave in. When it stopped, they noticed Tamer and Agumon heading for the door. Sora called after him, "Are you going to tell us?"

"Nope," Tamer wiped away one last glyph and the projection vanished, "Alright, let's go save Wizardmon."

* * *

Matt enjoyed playing his harmonica during these times when he felt uneasy. While they had beaten MetalSeadramon and driven his digimon away, Matt couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Of course, it was probably just anxiety from the earthquake he'd just felt. Gabumon had fallen asleep beside him on the ground while the Numemon continued doing what they could to fix the large hole on the front of the ship where they'd rammed MetalSeadramon. There was little they could do with the ship as damaged as it was, but they did start pulling parts from the interior of the ship in an attempt to weld the hole shut.

In between songs, Matt would watch the water carefully for any sign of danger in case any of the Divermon came back. Every so often, he would see a small splash as something disappeared into the water but it was far enough away and small enough that it could have easily been a fish jumping out of the water. As if he sensed Matt's unease, Gabumon jolted awake and looked around groggily, "What's wrong Matt?"

"I thought I saw something in the water. Maybe I'm just being nervous," Matt remarked. Gabumon stretched and walked towards the water with his eyes still half closed, "I don't see anything."

As soon as he said those words, a group of Divermon raced out of the water with harpoons, "Attack! Kill Cockatrimon! It'll destroy MetalSeadramon and end the Ocean Zone! KAMIKAZE!"

"KAMIKAZE!" the others shouted along with the charging digimon.

"Gabumon! Look out!" Matt shouted as the digimon charged up the beach. The Numemon hurried forward to defend their master but were defeated as quickly as they ran forward. Cockatrimon wasted no time going on the offensive and started turning the attackers to stone, "Petrifier!"

They'd learned their lesson the first time around and closed their eyes shut. Realizing his primary attack was no use, Cockatrimon and the Numemon retreated while Matt called for his partner to digivolve, "Go Gabumon!"

"Gabumon! Warp Digivolve to! MetalGarurumon!"

MetalGarurumon stormed ahead to meet the Divermon. They jabbed at him with their harpoons only for the weapons to bounce off his metal armor. This left him free to tear into them with his claws and his teeth - tearing them to shreds with ease. There were too many to handle with this method and a few piled themselves onto his back. MetalGarurumon shook them off and prepared to fire his weapons, "Let's see how you like these!"

"Wait! You'll destroy the ship!" Cockatrimon shouted just before MetalGarurumon could attack. He put his armaments away and growled, "Okay. Then how about this? METAL WOLF CLAW!"

A blast of cold air spewed from his mouth and froze everything in its path. The Divermon unfortunate enough to get caught in the attack turned to ice sculptures. Others slipped on the now icy beach while a few still emerging from the water found themselves buried waste deep in ice. Still, more and more Divermon charged out from the ocean to overwhelm MetalGarurumon. Matt clicked his tongue and shouted, "Cockatrimon! Get out of here! We can't let anything happen to you!"

"R…right," Cockatrimon shook as the fighting went on all around them. As they retreated into the forest, a new voice shouted, "You're not going anywhere!"

From the ocean arose a crustacean digimon with a bronze shell broken into sections. Two pincer like protrusions came from the sides of his face where his mouth was, as did several blades along its back. At the very end of its long body was a sickle attached to a tail that curved upwards and flailed freely. It introduced itself, "I am Scorpiomon, and you killed Master MetalSeadramon! I will make you pay for what you did! The rest of you, GET COCKATRIMON! I'll take care of these two."

He hurried straight towards MetalGarurumon and started attacking him with the blades on his tail and pincers. MetalGarurumon weaved through the attacks and rammed the digimon as hard as he could, managing to push him back into the ocean. As the two grappled with each other, a few of the Divermon managed to slip past in pursuit of Cockatrimon and his crew of Numemon.

* * *

Sora emerged from the temple, blinking into the sunlight and waiting for her eyes to adjust. Their exit wouldn't have taken so long had Tamer not taken them on a detour to pick up four extra white robes from some hidden room. He said they'd need it for something later but refused to comment on why, something Agumon said he would just do. Suddenly, she heard a loud boom from somewhere ahead of them. With her eyes still adjusting, her ears made up the difference and she could tell it was coming from the beach. When her eyes finally did adjust, she could make out a single column of smoke in the distance rising over the trees. Biyomon gasped, "Oh no."

"Well, looks like the ship blew up again," Tamer commented.

"Do you think it had anything to do with the repairs?" Agumon joked, to which only Tamer laughed. Gatomon and Kari ran ahead when the cat shouted, "Let's go check on Cockatrimon."

Seeing them run ahead had Tamer quickly following, "Kari! Wait!"

Agumon chased after them with Gomamon following after. Joe's shoulders slumped and he sighed before joining, "Shouldn't we run away from explosions?"

Seeing Tamer run after his little sister so cheerfully brought a smile to Sora's face as it helped bring back the memories of the Tai she used to know. She couldn't dwell on that thought and went after them with Biyomon beside her. They ran as fast as they could until they encountered Cockatrimon and his Numemon running as fast as they could from the beach, "Help!"

"What's going on!?" Gatomon slid to a halt just as Cockatrimon hid behind them, "They're attacking again! Divermon and Scorpiomon!"

Tamer rolled his eyes, "Just like a chicken to run away."

"Will you stop joking! This is serious! Your friends are back there trying to hold them off by themselves but they weren't doing too well! The Divermon think that if they get me, they can take all of us out in one go!" Cockatrimon pointed back in the direction he'd come from. Tamer wagged his finger, "Never be serious if it means you can't have fun. Besides, you're forgetting something Cockatrimon. They can't get you if you're in the air."

"I can't fly!" Cockatrimon snapped.

"You can't. Sora and Biyomon can," Tamer pointed towards the two. Cockatrimon's heart sank and he mumbled something about hating the plan. Biyomon pointed at herself, "Me? What are we doing exactly?"

"We're putting Cockatrimon somewhere where they can't get him," Tamer said with his typical dumb grin. Sora nodded in understanding, "I get it. But what about the Numemon?"

"They're not after the Numemon," Tamer remarked, "They're after Cockatrimon."

"I am not going to leave my crew behind," Cockatrimon said boldly, although that image did break slightly when the heard the unmistakable sound of an angry digimon coming towards them. Still, he stood his ground and forced Biyomon to say, "It's fine. I'll digivolve to Garudamon and you guys can ride my back."

"Thank you," Cockatrimon lowered his head as into a bow for them.

"Uh guys. We'd better hurry, they sound like they're getting closer!" Gomamon worried at the growing sounds of foot steps and shouts. Tamer laughed, "We'll be fine. Let's go Agumon!"

"You too Gatomon!" Kari raised her digivice the same way Tamer raised his. Their digimon ran ahead to meet their attackers and digivolved as the first Divermon appeared.

"Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

"Gomamon! Digivolve to! Ikakumon!"

"Gatomon! Digivolve to! Angewomon!"

"Agumon! Warp Digivolve to! WarGreymon!"

"Birdramon! Digivolve to! Garudamon!"

"Ikakumon! Digivolve to! Zudomon!"

Garudamon scooped up Cockatrimon and the Numemon in her arms before kicking off into the air. The Divermon stopped as she went out of their reach and complained, "Hey! That's no fair!"

"Not fair? You're fish out of water! Literally! What did you think was going to happen?" Tamer asked them. The Divermon eyed him and saw a new opportunity - why try to destroy the whole ocean zone when they could just kill the digidestined here, "Forget Cockatrimon! Get them!"

"Oh," Tamer responded. They raised their harpoons to attack and he dodged around the swings. He ran straight into the heart of their group to create confusion from their ranks. WarGreymon swooped in from the side and bowled them over. From above, Angewomon began picking them off with her bow, "Celestial Arrow!"

"Run away!" A Divermon shouted before dropping its harpoon to retreat, "Retreat!"

"Not yet! We can still get the others!" A Divermon pointed out the digidestined, "Come on! Let's-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Zudomon slammed his hammer down on the digimon and flattened it. This scared the others into saving themselves and they fled. As they retreated, WarGreymon landed beside Zudomon, "I thought you had a thing against killing."

"I stopped caring around the time Myotismon used his digimon to destroy a city," Zudomon answered, "As long as it protects Joe, I'm not going to be fussy."

WarGreymon remained impassive in his reaction until Tamer remarked,"Okay. Let's go help out Matt and MetalGarurumon!"

Angewomon grumpily added, "The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we go help Wizardmon."

Sora raised her hand, "Garudamon and I will hang back here to protect Cockatrimon. You guys go on ahead."

"Let's go!" WarGreymon took off again with Angewomon right behind him.

* * *

They arrived on the beach to see MetalGarurumon fending off attacks from a large scorpion digimon and a group of Divermon. He was juggling the attacks from both sides to protect Matt, while also trying to keep any more from getting past. Matt rode on his partner's back and called out the enemies as he saw them. WarGreymon and Angewomon wasted no time in joining the fray, "Matt! MetalGarurumon! Look out!"

"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon fired straight for the scorpion digimon. It hit its mark as the scorpion yelled at what was arguably the first thing to ever pierce its armor. Scorpiomon hissed, "Rargh! I'll get you for this! Take this! Scorpion Storm!"

The digimon reared itself up and spewed a blast of sand from its mouth. Both flying digimon moved out Scorpiomon's path, watching as the sand sprayed into the air and scattered back onto the Divermon now scurrying into the sea. The few who were less fortunate fell asleep onto the beach and had to be carried away by their allies. Zudomon kicked up his own sand storm by slamming his hammer straight into the beach. The resulting cloud obscured the beach enough for WarGreymon to rise high up into the air with his arms above his head, "MetalGarurumon! Get out of there!"

Just by looking, MetalGarururmon could tell what WarGreymon was thinking but couldn't stop him in time. All he could do was get out of the way while the Mega level digimon raised his hands above his head to shout, "Terra Force!"

"What?" Scorpiomon looked up in time to see a large ball of flame hurtling towards him from above. His eyes widened in disbelief and he scurried away, "Oh crap."

It was too late for him to do anything as the ball of fire struck the beach and burned away at the sand with enough heat to turn it to glass. The Divermon who were frozen in place were incinerated but Scorpiomon managed to go into the water in time to avoid being destroyed. But that meant nothing when the heat boiled the nearby water and killed everything close to blast. Unfortunately, this also meant the ship was lost in the blast. The remaining Divermon retreated in defeat while Tamer punched the air excitedly, "Alright. That's taken care of. Let's go help Wizardmon."

"YOU BLEW UP MY SHIP!" Cockatrimon exclaimed as Garudamon arrived on the scene. Before she even landed, Cockatrimon hopped onto the ground and furiously shouted, "My ship! It's gone! You blew it up!"

"And par for the course," Zudomon sighed. Tamer did a double take and took note of the burning wreckage that had earlier been Cockatrimon's ship, reduced to only its metal frame a fire. Sora put her hands to her hips, "Can't you go anywhere without blowing something up?"

"Yes…no," Tamer said enthusiastically, "At least they're gone, right?"

"Yes! You know what else is gone? MY SHIP!" Cockatrimon shouted at the top of his lungs. Before he could get any angrier, Tamer shrugged, "I'll get you another one."

"Yeah, and how are we supposed to get back to the others? It didn't take us a day to get here, y'know!" Matt answered, "It's not like the digimon can fly us all back in one go. They'll get tired."

"It's already been taken care of," Tamer smiled and pointed behind them, "Look!"

He gestured behind them so that they could see Infinity Mountain shrinking in the distance. MetalGarurumon gasped, "When did that happen?"

"At the researc…the temple. I detached this whole section of the island away from the rest of File Island. It's moving back towards the forest zone where we left. I think we'll be there by tomorrow at the earliest," Tamer said proudly, looking at Cockatrimon with smug grin. It vanished when he took a good look at Cockatrimon, "Wait a second. I thought I said I never wanted to see you again! What are you doing here?"

"Did you just remember that?" Cockatrimon's beak fell open, "Grah! We came all this way to…AARH! How did someone like you beat me?"

"They were hoping you'd forgive them, remember? I'm pretty sure I told you," Sora reminded him. Tamer put a hand to his chin and gave it some thought before admitting that he didn't. A few of the Numemon snickered while Joe began explaining the situation to a flustered Tamer. Angewomon and Kari looked ahead to the ocean and hoped they would return to the others soon.

* * *

 **Post-Author's Notes:** Will Wizardmon make it out okay? What will they do about the last Dark Master still loose in the Digital World? What is the void at the base of Spiral Mountain? Find out all of this and more in the next upcoming chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure due out in two weeks on Friday, December 23rd at 5 PM CST. If you liked it, leave a review and let me know. And hey, like the story and follow to get news on all the latest updates. I'll try to reply as soon as I can but that all depends on when the site will let me. Guest reviews will recieve a response in the next Author's Notes but need to be signed. I'll be at a con next week and seeing family. In case I don't see you, have a happy holidays! I don't have much else to say so let's do previews for the next chapter.

Mimi grew frustrated but was happy to know that he cared enough about her to be worried, "Is Wizardmon going to be?"

"I wanted to see DemiDevimon," Mimi explained, "I...have something I need to do."

"Oh look, the talking plant came to save you. How sad is that? You really can't do anything without her, can you?" DemiDevimon goaded her.

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" TK shouted so loudly that everyone in the group was startled.

"He's dead, Tai," Kari mumbled.


	48. Coming Together

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hey folks! Welcome to another rolicking chapter of The Tamer - A Digimon Adventure. I hope you guys are having an awesome holiday season! If not, then you're probably doing it wrong. Maybe try a comically small hat? Anyway, thanks to all the readers out there who left reviews, favorited and followed the story. It's great to know that so many of you like this story. And of course, a huge thanks to Ace Spiritwell for producing the cover art of this story. I don't have much else to say so let's get this story going!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 48: Coming Together**

TK and Patamon wandered the camps in search of something to snack on with Patamon. While neither side was particularly short of food, TK did miss his mom's home cooked meals and was hoping to find something as good. The Gekomon has been particularly accommodating ever since ShogunGekomon insisted that Mimi perform 'Butterfly' for him at every available opportunity, something she was willing to do. However, everyone noticed that she wasn't able to sing it with as much enthusiasm as she used to - her singing was more subdued and somber compared to the upbeat performance she gave the first time.

Izzy speculated it had to do with the losses they'd witnessed up until this point, especially the death of her own mother. Palmon worried for her partner and offered her support wherever she could although Mimi insisted that everything was fine. TK was sorry for Mimi; he hadn't lost either of his parents but he did know what it was like to be without his dad. But that was completely different to losing them forever.

Eventually, they found a small circle of Agumon happily chowing on some bread they'd snuck out of ShogunGekomon's camp and toasting. They sat beside them and were greeted warmly before being offered some to eat. It didn't have any butter or jam to go with it but it did taste good and was far better than the nuts and berries he'd had. He split his share with Patamon who thanked him graciously. Their circle listened intently to Mimi's performance at the other camp. She was too far away to hear properly but they could still plainly make out the melody.

After a while, she stopped singing the song and they could hear the other camp grow quiet. By that time, most the camp had fallen asleep or was happily dozing off. A few digimon on both sides were awake on guard duty, both sides were still at odds and were convinced that one side was going to attempt an act of betrayal.

As a show of faith, the digidestined agreed to camp in the middle between the two camps. As the youngest, TK and Patamon would sleep through the night while Mimi and Izzy would take turns on watch. Izzy and Tentomon took the first watch but had difficulty staying awake after spending the day stopping any fights from breaking out between the two camps. They breathed a sigh of relief when Mimi and Palmon's turn finally came - quickly retiring to sleep as soon as the two were up.

Their turn was uneventful for the first few minutes until Mimi excused herself to use the bathroom. She made sure the others were asleep and Palmon wasn't following her before heading off - not into the forest but into the Gekomon's camp. She tiptoed her way through, carefully making sure she didn't awaken any of the digimon sleeping or alert any of the guards.

She wanted to see one tent in particular - a small tent in the far corner of the camp protected by two Gekomon. She hid just out of sight and watched the two to be sure they weren't as alert as they should've been. Occasionally one would nod off but the other would wake them up. Realizing they weren't going to sleep, she decided to be direct. As much as she didn't want anyone to know what she was doing, she realized she wanted to see him more. The Gekomon raised their spears on seeing her, "Hey! No one's allowed in here."

"I wanted to see DemiDevimon," Mimi explained, "I...have something I need to do."

"No exceptions without Centarumon's permission," the Gekomon answered, "Now go!"

"Why do you want to see him anyway?" the other asked. Mimi hesitated before answering, "He killed my mom."

There was a short pause before the other Gekomon slid the tent open, "Only a few minutes. And we're going in with you."

"We are?" the first gasped.

"It'll be fine," the second answered before ushering Mimi inside. She thanked them and waited for them to close the tent behind them. The interior was dark, with the only light coming from the entrance. With what little light came in, she could see DemiDevimon strewn up by the strings on his legs and wings. He was beaten and bruised with a glazed look in his eyes that seemed focus on the ground.

Mimi examined the injuries and concluded that the Gekomon had vented a lot of frustration on the poor digimon. She would've felt sympathy for him were it the reason she was here. But it wasn't. She was here because she'd been having dangerous thoughts since she learned that DemiDevimon, a servant of Myotismon, had been the cause of the digimon's problems. A resentment and anger bubbled inside her every time she thought about Myotismon killing her mother. While she didn't want to be like Tamer who's rampage leveled half a city after what it turned Agumon into some terrible monstrosity, she found it hard to not understand his anger. For a time, it seemed the anger in her would turn Palmon into something dreadful that could destroy the camp. But she didn't want that - she could never want that for either her partner or the digimon in this camp.

She spent a long time just watching the bat as it occasionally twitched and mumbled something incomprehensible. At some point, DemiDevimon realized she was present and spoke up, "What do you want human?"

She didn't answer. Her eyes adjusted to the dark and she could briefly see some of the items in the tent - a whip, chains, a rack meant to pull limbs apart, cold pokers used to brand skin when hot, buckets of water with rags and other such items. One caught her attention in particular, a particularly sharp poker that could potentially stab someone - someone like the bat before her. DemiDevimon noticed her wandering eyes and mumbled, "Hey. What are you looking at?"

Without a word Mimi picked up the poker and felt its cool steel in her hands. It was heavier than she expected but the tip was as sharp as she thought it would be. DemiDevimon became more nervous, "Hey let's talk before one of us does something the other regrets."

"Why? It won't bring my mom back," Mimi stated.

"Easy now," one of the Gekomon warned. Mimi didn't even realized she'd said anything, believing she'd thought those words. DemiDevimon's expression soured, "I don't know anything about any moms."

"My mom died when Myotismon invaded the Real World. He killed her. Right in front of me because he wanted to find Kari. Except he already knew where she was. He did it just to mess with us," Mimi said, still playing with the poker in her hands. She turned it over a few times and imagined herself striking the bat with it. The bat opened his mouth to scream only for Mimi to swing at him with it, leaving a fresh red gash across the side of his cheek. Doing so brought horrible images of Tamer's rampage at the city and she dropped it with a clang. The bat looked up frightfully and Mimi began, "You don't get to scream. You don't get to cry or yell, or beg for help or any of it."

The bat eyed her curiously as she went on to say, "I won't apologize for hitting you, but I don't regret doing it either. After everything that's happened and all the terrible things that I've seen, you don't deserve to be spared. I know it's not right, that it won't make things go back to how they were. Those digimon aren't coming back and my mom won't be there when we go back to the Real World. The right thing to do would be to forgive you and let it go. I can let it go, but that doesn't mean I will forgive you. I will _never_ forgive you."

When she finished, one of the Gekomon took her by the arm, "I think it's time to go."

"Yeah," Mimi answered as she realized that tears were now streaming from her eyes. The second Gekomon said, "We shouldn't have let you in here. Let's just let it go."

At this moment, DemiDevimon saw an opportunity. He jeered the girl, "Do you know why you won't kill me? It's the same reason your mom died. It's because you digidestined are too stupid to realize you're being used, y'know that?"

Mimi stopped just short of the entrance and took a long inhale. DemiDevimon saw he'd managed to strike a nerve and went on, "I mean, you guys think you're the heroes but you guys ain't very heroic. How many humans and digimons have died because of you? Worst heroes ever! Boy, would I be embarrassed to be your parents."

"That's enough out of you!" one Gekomon raised its spear while the other tried to push Mimi out. But she was too angry now and refused to leave as DemiDevimon added, "Then again, I guess it's a good thing your mom is dead. Saves her the embarrassment of knowing just how much of a failure her daughter i-"

He was slapped in the face by a sudden swing of vines from the entrance of the tent that had him yelp, "Don't talk about Mimi like that! She's not a failure! She tries really hard to help others and only wants to see everyone happy! Which is more than any one could ever say about you!"

"Palmon? What are you doing here?" Mimi gasped as her partner came into the tent, vines retracting back into her arms, "You were gone a long time Mimi. I was worried so I went to find you. That's when I heard DemiDevimon start screaming."

"Oh look, the talking plant came to save you. How sad is that? You really can't do anything without her, can you?" DemiDevimon goaded her, "It's no wonder so many digimon die! Digidestined? Yeah, sure. More like digi-destined to fail."

Mimi ignored the bat and wiped at her tears, "Shut up DemiDevimon. It's not like I'd expect you to get it."

"Get what? How much you fail as a digidestined?" he tried to goad her. Mimi could feel her own fists shaking but stopped herself before doing something she'd regret. She took another deep breath before facing DemiDevimon, "Y'know what DemiDevimon? You're the failure! At the end of the day, you're on your own. Myotismon and all the digimon who served him are gone but we still have each other. We have our friends on our side! What about you? I don't see any digimon here trying to help you."

DemiDevimon made a noise like a stifled laugh that grew into full blown laughter, "You just don't get it do you Digi-dipshit? You think you won just coz you put Myotismon under? You haven't! We won. We won years back when the war ended. We won when we marched an army into your world. We won when we warped the Digital World into Spiral Mountain. That's why you're a failure! It's because you've already lost and you're too stupid to realize it! To dumb to realize that your resistance won't amount to anything because we've already done what we needed to do! So go do yourself a favor and give up already!"

"And what's that gotten you? Did it make you happy? Did it help anyone? Has it made you better in anyway? What was the point of it DemiDevimon? If you already won, then why did you keep up this stupid charade for so long?" Mimi confronted the bat angrily, forcing Palmon to pull her back for protection. The first Gekomon moved between the two and jabbed his spear into the bat, "What was that stuff you were saying just now?"

The little bat cackled gleefully, "Wouldn't you like to know? Haha! You think you can get me to tell you when you can't even bring yourselves to kill me? Patheti-"

He was silenced when Palmon slapped him again with her vines and the Gekomon shoved them out, "Okay. That's enough from both of you. You guys go back outside, I'll need to get Centarumon."

"What? You think you can torture me into telling you? As if! Myotismon was a hundred times the torturer you guys could ever hope to be!"

The Gekomon raised the tent flap to let them out only for The Tamer to step in wearing his dusty white robe, "How about I have a go then?"

"What?" DemiDevimon said short of a gasp. He strolled into the tent and examined the tools along the walls, "Hello DemiDevimon. Haven't seen you in a while. Are you on a rack? That's kinda barbaric, isn't it? Unless…don't tell me that's what you're into. I mean, I knew you were creepy but I didn't think you were _that_ creepy."

"You're back! Shouldn't you be helping Wizardmon?" Palmon asked. Tamer picked Mimi's poker of the ground and cracked a smile, "It looks like this has been getting some use out of it, huh?"

"Tamer!" Palmon said loudly enough to startle the boy into dropping it, "Wizardmon?"

"He's a rock. He's not going anywhere," Tamer answered, "Besides, this looks like where all the fun is. I mean, why else would there be screaming? Ooh! A baseball bat? Let me guess! Palmon hit a home run."

He produced a baseball bat from beneath a pile of tools and swung it in the air like he was preparing to bat. After a few swings, DemiDevimon chided, "Look, if you think you're going to get me to talk then you have another thing coming."

"Talk? Why would I want you to talk? Why would I care about anything you have to say?"

"Oh like you don't know," DemiDevimon hissed. Tamer cocked his head to side, "Or I don't care. Whatever you're doing can't be that important. Why else would you be left behind when Myotismon sent his army to the Real World."

"Because I had a more important job to fulfill and that was-"

"Stay out of his way so that you don't screw that up the way you screw this up. I mean face it, he took Gatomon and Wizardmon when he knew they were both traitors. So I have to ask, how incompetent were you that he'd rather have the traitors than the screw up?" Tamer asked matter-of-factly. DemiDevimon scowled, "Yeah! I'm a screw up! I'm so bad I messed with an army and got them to fight each other!"

"You're only proving my point about being a colossal screw up. You got an army to fight itself! Why would Myotismon let you anywhere near his army? I mean let's be honest, if you screw up that badly - then what kind of knowledge would Myotismon trust you with?"

"The Dark Masters' plan to destroy the Digital World," DemiDevimon answered, "Why else would he invade the Real World? To escape destiny and rule the Real World while the-"

"Bored now," Tamer yawned, "Hey! Who wants to see how far I can throw this prod like a spear?"

"Pay attention dammit! I was the one who made your friends and allies start killing each other."

"Yes, I know. Please say you had something else to tell me because I don't like being told what I already know," Tamer frowned, "No? Okay. Bye!"

"The Dark Masters aren't really in charge! They're near the top but they're not at the top!" DemiDevimon shouted desperately. Tamer blinked, "So you admit that you're the peon of a peon. How sad. At least you admit it. They say denial is the first step, so you're definitely making progress. Bye!"

"The Dark Masters are trying to bring their Master into this world! It's why they tried so hard to destroy the Digital World! Their master is supposed to exist outside this plane of reality but they think that if they derail destiny and destroy the Digital World, then they can give him room to enter this plane! Myotismon knew that if I kept these guys busy, they wouldn't be able to stop the Dark Masters!" DemiDevimon shouted angrily in a desperate attempt to make his own worth known. Tamer paused and began to deliver a slow clap, "And that's how you fish for information. Thank you very much for your help DemiDevimon. I wouldn't have known any of that. Really, thanks."

"What?" DemiDevimon gasped as it slowly dawned on him that he'd played straight into Tamer's hands. The boy offered a bow and took his leave straight into the night. Mimi stared at the slack jawed bat, overjoyed to see him so flustered and upset to realize that she was happy because of this. This bat who'd taken so much pride in his ability to manipulate and trick others had been tricked into giving away information by one of the most absurd people in the Digital World. She departed the tent with her partner as the bat started screaming and shouting at the top of his lungs.

Outside, she found an air of hushed excitement. The guards and a few digimon who were awake were now excitedly gathered around the returning digidestined - more specifically, they were around WarGreymon who was flustered by the attention he was receiving. A few of the Agumon leapt onto his arms and were trying to climb him while commenting on his massive size, "Wow! You're huge!"

"Think we'll get that big when we go Mega?"

"Not without a partner, we won't."

"So cool!"

They had seen WarGreymon at Aca'dehmia but only glimpses as he soared over the city and tore it apart in his battle with MetalSeadramon. Behind them, she could make out TK with Matt talking happily - with TK oohing to Matt's story. Biyomon, Gomamon, Gabumon, and Gatomon were passed out on the ground with Kari and Joe getting them refreshment. Izzy looked around the camp anxiously and hurried towards Mimi upon seeing her, "Mimi! Where'd you go? You disappeared!"

"Izzy? You're all sweaty," Mimi said as she saw a fine layer of sweat running down his skin, then noticed the worried expression on his face, "What's going on?"

"We were trying to keep these guys from fighting! Palmon woke me up when she said she was going to go looking for you. What happened? Are you alright?" Izzy asked.

"I'm fine. Why? Were you worried?" Mimi began teasing. He nodded and pointed at her, "Yes. Your eyes are red. What happened?"

"Nothing Izzy. Thanks for worrying but I'm fine," she said plainly, shoulders slumped downward, "When did they get back?"

"Just now. We thought Tamer was going to help Wizardmon but he just went straight into that tent. What was going on in there anyway? We heard screaming! What was going on? You didn't do anything to DemiDevimon, did you?" Izzy talked at a hundred words a minute in such rapid succession that Mimi's head was spinning trying to keep up, "Slow down. What?"

Izzy repeating everything more slowly for her benefit. When he finished, she answered, "I had to resolve some things Izzy. I'm fine now."

"Resolve! What does that mean? What happened in there?" Izzy pressed nervously. Mimi offered him a smile that made him shy away and responded, "Nothing. Is he going to help Wizardmon?"

"Are you sure? Mimi, you know you can talk to-"

"I'm fine!" Mimi said more sternly, frustrated but happy to know that he cared enough about her to still be worried, "Is Wizardmon going to be?"

"That's actually up for debate," Izzy pointed out WarGreymon slinging the statue of Wizardmon over his shoulder while Gatomon chastised him, "Be careful with him! Don't just swing him around like that!"

"It'll be fine, Gatomon. You need to relax," WarGreymon answered as he picked up the Puppetmon statue, "We're going to need a hand with Puppetmon. Once Cockatrimon turns them back, we'll need someone to hold him down so he doesn't escape."

"MetalGarurumon, Leomon, ShogunGekomon should be enough to hold him," Sora thought aloud. Tamer patted her shoulder, "If what you told me is true, I'd feel more comfortable if Angemon, Angewomon, and Garudamon came along too. The others can stay here and keep the others from tearing each other apart."

"Wouldn't if he better if all of us stay?" Biyomon asked quietly from the ground. Tamer thumbed over at Leomon and ShogunGekomon, "Oh, you guys will be coming to make sure these two don't kill each other. If what you guys told me is true, they'll be bickering the whole way. And Leomon can go to the Mega level so we'll need someone who can challenge him."

* * *

WarGreymon and Tamer led them some ways from the camp with their entourage in tow. As he guessed, Leomon and ShogunGekomon did nothing but argue the whole way. It seemed the only reason they weren't trying to kill each other was the digidestined and their partners. After walking for the longest time, TK groaned,"Why do we have to go so far from camp?"

"Because it's a bad idea to put a Dark Master in the middle of a camp full of digimon," Tamer responded grumpily, "Besides, The last thing anyone needs is Puppetmon taking control of both sides the camp."

"There's nothing to fear as long as we have the combined strength of the digimon on our side," ShogunGekomon said proudly. Leomon scoffed, "It's that rash mindset that put us in this mess in the first place!"

"What did you say coward?"

"You heard me you stupid frog!"

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" TK shouted so loudly that everyone in the group was startled. The little boy went on to add, "Why are you two arguing like a couple of babies! We're younger than both of you and we're acting more like grown ups! It's fighting like this that makes people want to leave each other and those poor digimon who follow you get caught in the middle! What's wrong with both of you!?"

"He started it," Leomon offered sheepishly to which the boy answered, "I don't care who started it, Patamon and I'll finish it!"

"We will?" Patamon asked, looking at the scowl on the boy's face, "Uh, I mean we will!"

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets put in their place by a little boy," Tamer commented from the front, earning him his own little scream from TK, "You disappeared on us when we needed you so you don't get to talk either! GOT IT!?"

"Yes sir," Tamer answered with a nod, "This should be far enough away from the main camp. Let's do it."

"Did he just yell at the Tamer?" ShogunGekomon whispered to Leomon. The lion nodded back quietly, "Yeah, he did. That's a first."

"Hm, maybe we're wrong to think it'll be Tamer who can beat the Dark Masters," ShogunGekomon mused as Tamer pointed them out, "Hey guys! I need you two to hold onto Puppetmon's statue. He'll be disoriented at first but he'll try to run the first chance he gets."

WarGreymon set the statue down beside them with a loud thump and Gatomon stated, "Hey! You'd better not put Wizardmon down like that!"

"I won't," WarGreymon protested as he turned to face the cat. At that exact moment, he turned and managed to bump the top of Wizardmon's statue against a nearby tree. A loud crack followed as the tip of the hat snapped off from the rest of him. Gatomon gasped when the little stone landed and desperately tried to put it back in place, "YOU IDIOT! BE MORE CAREFUL!"

"Sorry, sorry!" WarGreymon lowered the statue onto the ground and backed away anxiously. Tamer wasted no time and motioned for the others to get into position. After a quick series of digivolutions, Leomon and ShogunGekomon flanked either side of Puppetmon's statue - taking hold as hard as they could. Angemon hovered behind the statue with his fist at the ready, with Angewomon from the front with an arrow nocked in her bow. Garudamon and MetalGarurumon took to the air and hovered above, ready to blanket the ground from above with fire when the order was given. WarGreymon positioned himself between Puppetmon and Tamer to prevent the Dark Master from making a mad rush at the injured digimon. The rest of the digidestined positioned themselves nearby, watching from behind the trees as Tamer stretched, "Okay, everyone in position. On your go, Cockatrimon."

"Okay, um," Cockatrimon adjusted himself and mumbled, "Here goes."

On his announcement, the statues reverted to their normal states. Wizardmon gasped for breath and curled into a ball in pain. Puppetmon looked around anxiously while shaking, "Who? What! Where? What's going on! What happened! Ah! Cockatrimon! You trait-wait, what's happening? Hey! Let me go you dumb digimon! Let me go!"

Puppetmon struggled against his captors, both holding onto the little puppet with all their might despite his protests, "LEMME GO!"

"Do whatever you're going to do quick. He's deceptively strong for his size," Leomon grunted. ShogunGekomon laughed, "What's the matter Leomon? Too weak to hold him down?"

"I'm not the one who's putting all his weight on the Dark Master," Leomon retorted. Inspired by his little brother, Matt shouted, "Will you two knock it off!? We just started and you two are already bickering. Hey Puppetmon!"

"What? Who's there? Let me go!" Puppetmon demanded, "Lemme go! Lemme go! I don't like this! Meanies! Stupid heads!"

"I still feel bad for him," TK mumbled. Matt patted his head, "Don't. Remember what Izzy said - he's still a Dark Master and a lot of digimon died because of him. Listen up Puppetmon. We've got you trapped and our digimon are ready to finish you off if you try to run - so stay still and don't say a thing."

"You're not the boss of me!" Puppetmon snapped back. Sora pointed out Tamer, "I think he'd say otherwise."

Puppetmon took note of the boy leaning over the injured Wizardmon, mumbling something under his breath and frowned, "Him! What's he doing here!? No fair, digidestined! No fair! Cheaters! You're all cheaters!"

Before he could say anything else, there was a flash of light that blinded them all. They all closed their eyes to protect themselves and Kari gasped, "Tai! Wizardmon!"

* * *

Wizardmon opened his eyes and looked around weakly. The last thing he remembered was Cockatrimon apologizing. Slowly, the memories came back to him - being stabbed from behind by the disguised DemiDevimon. He should have been more careful, but was too distracted by the present Dark Master. The stabbing pain in his chest made it difficult to focus but he could vaguely make out the silhouette of someone over him, "This is twice I'm saving your life Wizardmon."

Wizardmon replied with a grunt, too tired to actually make the words for a response. Tamer really should have let him die by this point. It would have been the fastest way to get destiny back on track as well as help hedge their chances of victory. Instead, he was being saved again by this boy, "I'll be honest - I really did consider letting you die. I mean, I like you. Plus, WarGreymon and I wouldn't have lasted this long on our own against Myotismon. So thank you."

"Gatomon...yelled at...you, didn't she?" Wizardmon managed to say. Tamer shook his head, "Kari, actually. And Sora, a little bit. Mostly Kari."

"You...listen to her...too much," Wizardmon replied with a friendly smile. Tamer responded with his own friendly smile, " I suppose I do. Come on. Let's get you patched up."

"How?" Wizardmon adjusted his gaze and saw the bleeding wound in the center of his chest. The bandages Joe placed on him were soaked through and needed cleaning. Tamer replied, "The only way I can. It breaks the rules pretty badly but the Digital World is kind of falling apart here so what the hell. How could I possibly make it any worse?"

There was a bright and sudden flash of light.

* * *

When the light cleared and everyone could see again, they witnessed Wizardmon sit up with the bandages falling off him. As he massaged his head, he murmured, "You really shouldn't have done that."

"Eh, I'm used to doing dumb things," Tamer shrugged, before offering a hand to help pull the Wizard up. In that moment, his head tilted forward and his hat rolled off his head. Naturally, he took note of the gaping hole at the top of his hat that used to be the pointed tip, "My hat! What happened to my hat!?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. That was...my fault," WarGreymon looked over his shoulder at the wizard, "I sorta banged your statue against the tree."

"I told you to be careful with his statue!" Angewomon warned the humanoid dinosaur. WarGreymon hissed, "Well, maybe I wouldn't have been distracted if you didn't keep warning me to be careful with the statue!"

"It's your own fault!" Angewomon snapped back. Kari asked them to stop but everyone was quiet when they heard a chuckle from Wizardmon. It was an oddity to watch him trying hard to suppress his own laughter so he admitted, "Forgive me. I just…never thought I'd see the day that Gatomon…openly showed she cared. Sorry, I meant to…to say Angewomon."

"Wizardmon…you…laugh?" Angewomon asked, perplexed by a sight that seemed to even have her taken by surprise. Wizardmon's chuckles continued, "I do…I do…but I never…never did before you…I always tried to…maintain…maintain composure as…as you were Myotismon's…right hand."

"Big deal, I laugh all the time. No one ever cared," Puppetmon frowned, "Now let me go you big meanies! I hate, hate, hate YOU!"

"So what are we going to do about Puppetmon? We can't destroy him without destroying the forest zone!" Sora pointed out. Leomon suggested, "We should turn him to stone and wait to free the prisoners from MetalEtemon's camp. Then we finish him."

Puppetmon continued struggling against his captors, apprehensive of being held in such a way against his will. With his struggling, TK noted the sadness in his eyes, "Wait a second. Maybe we don't have to kill him."

"Yeah, pretty sure we do TJ. Do try and keep up," Tamer rolled his eyes at the boy. TK turned on Tamer, "It's TK! Besides, you weren't here so I wouldn't expect you to get it. He's not bad, just kinda lonely, y'know?"

"There are a bunch of dead digimon who would disagree," ShogunGekomon retorted, "And that's before we count the losses in the last war. The Great War."

"TK, buddy, I get how you feel but he's still one of the digimon responsible for everything that's happened," Matt reminded his little brother, "Were supposed to stop them from destroying the Digital World, remember?"

"Stopping them doesn't mean we have to destroy them or do bad stuff like them. It seems like all he wanted was friends," TK said somberly. Puppetmon's struggling died down when he heard those words, and he repeated TK's words under his breath. He flinched a little when TK approached him, and his partner asked, "TK, what are you doing?"

The littlest one ignored his own partner and asked the Dark Master, "Isn't that right Puppetmon? You just want friends."

"Humph. I don't need friends, especially not friends who would attack me like bullies," Puppetmon turned his head away. TK inched closer, "Were sorry for how we treated you. Right, Kari?"

"R-right," Kari joined him in trying to bring Puppetmon to their side. TK quietly thanked her and continued, "See? We'll be your friends but you have to promise to stop doing bad things to good digimon!"

"Bad things? Good digimon? Are you dumb or just crazy!? There's no such thing!" Puppetmon growled at them, "There's only what you can and can't do! Like how I can do whatever I want when I want!"

"Except break free," WarGreymon mumbled under his breath.

"You're not helping," Angemon scolded him. TK agreed with the puppet, "You're right. But you can't do everything on your own. Like that game of Daruma-san Fell Over that we played. It's better to have friends. So why not be ours?"

Puppetmon took on a contemplative look but continued eyeing the boy carefully. After a long silence, he opened his mouth to speak. Before a single word could get out, they heard footsteps coming from the woods and turned to see their new arrivals - a large green ogre and a monkey with a metal body wearing sunglasses. The green ogre pointed a bone club at the lion, "Looks like Cherrymon was right. Puppetmon was captured!"

"Uh-huh! It lo-looks like we've got so-so-some new challengers-ers for the title of king! Uh-huh!" The metal monkey said. Garudamon gasped, "It's Etemon!"

"The na-name's Metal-etalEtemon now sweet-eet-eet cheeks! Ya'll digidestined-tined better learn to get it-it-it right," the monkey answered. MetalGarurumon asked, "What's with him? He's talking funny!"

"You wouldn't happen to know, would you Tamer?" Wizardmon asked the boy, only now noticing that he was on his knees, "Tamer!"

"It's nothing! Just a head ache," he muttered while using a hand to steady himself on the wizard. Seeing her brother in such a state brought back memories of their reunion - which made her worry. Forgetting that she was in cover, the girl ran out and shouted, "Tai!"

"Kari, don't!" Angewomon called out to her partner one second too late. MetalEtemon saw the opening and cracked a wide smile, "Aw, don't worry-rry baby-by doll! I heard The Digimon-mon-mon Tamer's got a cute lit-lit-little sister! Why don't I cut-ut-ut you down to si-si-size with a good old METAL PUNCH!"

"Leave her alone!" Leomon let Puppetmon to his free his hands for his blade. He raced to defend her and crossed blades with Ogremon, "Don't forget Leomon, you're fighting me!"

"Out of my way!"

While this happened, MetalEtemon wound up his arm and thrust it forward with enough force to make his body rocket forward through the air. Kari stopped in her tracks as MetalEtemon closed the gap ready to strike her down. To his amazement, his lethal blow was dealt to the giant chicken Cockatrimon instead of Kari. Kari fell over backwards as the chicken let out a wail of despair and turned to data. She stood, frozen in terror as MetalEtemon took in his bearings, "Not what I want-want-wanted to happen, but it's all good in Metal-alEtemon's house-ouse! Now then baby doll. I think we had bu-bu-business to deal with. Uh-huh!"

"No you don't!" WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon slid in between them. The dinosaur issued its only warning, "Leave her alone!"

"You'll have to go through us to get to her," MetalGarurumon added as Angewomon appeared behind him, "And there's so much more of us."

"Quality over-ver-ver quantity angel face," MetalEtemon shrugged and pointed behind them, "Besides, ya'll were so focused on me, you forgot about them!"

ShogunGekomon lay on the the ground beaten with Puppetmon atop him, "Hee hee! I'm free!"

"Celebrate later ya dumb marionette! Uh-huh! Let's exit stage-tage left and get outta dodge-odge already!" he smiled expectantly, waving his arms for Puppetmon to join him, "Ogremon! Let's go!"

"Not yet! I almost have him!" Ogremon shouted excitedly while swinging his bone club wildly at Leomon. The monkey scoffed, "Do whatever-atever-ver you want see! Come on little Puppetmon! Let's roll on outta here!"

"Just one second," Puppetmon said at the edge of the clearing. WarGreymon and Garudamon hurried towards the fleeing puppet, but weren't fast enough to match a flick his fingers. The two were caught in a web of strings and the puppet cackled, "Hee hee! That was fun! Let's go!"

"Uh-huh! I knew I saved-aved you for a reason little puppet digimon-mon-mon," MetalEtemon patted the puppet's back as they fled the scene. Angemon and Angewomon both took shots at the fleeing digimon in an attempt to stop them, "Hand of Fate!"

"Celestial Arrow!"

It was no use as MetalEtemon kicked down a tree and used its trunk to absorb their attacks. He smirked evilly and threw it at Tamer and Wizardmon. Tamer was starting to pick himself up but didn't seem to register the incoming projectile until the last possible second - at which point Wizardmon teleported them out of its path. When it crashed Ogremon realized the others had fled without him and was forced to retreat, "Hey guys! Don't leave me back here! Come on!"

Leomon clicked his tongue disdainfully and pursued them to the edge of the clearing, "Come back here, coward!"

"Dammit! DAMMIT!" Matt cursed out loud, "He got away."

"ShogunGekomon! Is he okay?" Tamer asked, wobbling his way towards the others with help from Wizardmon. Sora had already gone to check on him and commented, "He's out cold."

"Uh guys...a little help?" WarGreymon asked while entangled in the strings. MetalGarurumon tried to cut him and Garudamon down, but had to cut through the rest of the web just to get close to them. Matt was busy cursing in frustration and only Sora noticed Kari sitting on the ground quietly - shocked from seeing a digimon die in front of her. To have seen a digimon die for her. Tamer noticed as well and stumbled his way towards her, leaving Wizardmon behind, "Are you alright Kari?"

"He's dead, Tai," Kari mumbled, "Cockatrimon is dead!"

"Yeah...I know," he massaged his head carefully, "Are you okay, though?"

Kari didn't answer and Sora couldn't blame her. How could she be fine after what she'd just witnessed? She'd known that others had died because of her in the Real World but hadn't seen it for herself until now. And now she had - just inches away from her. To make it worse, one of the Dark Masters escaped with an enemy they were certain they'd defeated. Daylight broke over the horizon and lit up the forest around them.

* * *

 **Post-Author's Notes:** What will happen now that Puppetmon's escaped? Will the digidestined be able to stop him before he brings more harm? What's going to happen to the Numemon without Cockatrimon? Find out all this and more in two weeks on Friday, January 6th 5 PM CST. I want to apologize for that extra delay folks. It's entirely my fault. I got some writing done during my break last week. Then, over the weekend, I went to a con and caught terrible con flu. I've been out of it all week and haven't done any writing or editing so I fell behind and am not comfortable posting anything next week while knowing that the reserve just isn't there any more. I promise we'll back to our regular updates in two weeks and we'll be returning to the three weekly updates routine at that time. Until then, why not leave a review to let me know what you guys thought? I love hearing your feedback and welcome all your speculation regarding future chapters. And hey, I make a point of responding in a timely manner when the website will let me! And why not follow to found out when the next update will be? As a reminder, guest reviews will need to be signed in order to receive a response. Well, that's all for now. Let's go on to previews for the next chapter:

Sora reprimanded the boy, "You've blown up enough stuff. The last thing we need is you blowing up walls to enter a room."

Tamer seemed excited, "Izzy, you're a genius, and I'm going to hug you now. Possibly kiss, but let's start with the hug and see where that goes."

Agumon blinked, "If you're going to ask me questions about every little thing, we're going to be powderized by-"

"I get the feeling I'm being made fun of," TK sighed.

With a flash of light the lion digimon digivolved, "Leomon! Warp Digivolve to! SaberLeomon!"


	49. Raid on MetalEtemon's Camp

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hi there! Welcome to another chapter of The Tamer - A Digimon Adventure. I hope you all had a good holiday and great new year! I want to thank all you wonderful readers who left reviews and followed/favorited the story. It's been a wonderful year writing this story and may many more stories follow! Special thanks goes to reader AceSpiritwell for creating the cover art of this story! Let's not wait any longer and give this story the go ahead!

 **Edit:** Changed a character name from Pegasusmon to Unimon. In my defense, the two digimon are basically flying horses so they're easy to confuse.

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 49: Raid on MetalEtemon's Camp**

The mood at the camp was somber - Wizardmon was alive and well, minus his hat, which was good news. Unfortunately, ShogunGekomon was out cold and neither Puppetmon nor Cockatrimon were anywhere to be seen. A quick explanation of what happened by Matt devolved into a blame game between both camps. The Gekomon accused Leomon of being rash and ignoring Puppetmon to fight Ogremon. The Agumon argued that he was trying to save the digidestined and hadn't done anything wrong, and they wouldn't have been in this mess if ShogunGekomon were anywhere as strong as he pretended to be. In the middle were the disappointed Numemon who were now lost without their captain. Tamer did his best to try and spin things favorably for all sides - that Leomon had fulfilled his role as a proud warrior, ShogunGekomon had done well on his own but was simply outclassed by the Dark Master, and that Cockatrimon had more than made up for what he'd done. This was shouted down by both sides who were keen on each other's throats while the Numemon resigned themselves to the side lines.

"Well this went south fast," Izzy frowned as the digidestined were once again forced into the middle of both camps to keep them from tearing each other apart. Tentomon sighed quietly, "No one wants to listen to each other, they're all just getting angry."

"We need a way to make them see past their differences," Izzy folded his arms and tried thinking, "They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Maybe if we got them to concentrate on Puppetmon, they'll forget all about how much they don't like each other."

"Won't they just start fighting again once we're done with Puppetmon?" Matt pointed out. Izzy sighed and tried thinking of something else, which was made harder when WarGreymon agreed with Matt, "He has a point. Puppetmon's loose now and who knows what he's going to do now that MetalEtemon and Ogremon are with him. The digimon on our side are strong but only when they're together. If they can't stop bickering, any battle they enter will be a massacre. Besides, we'll need to rescue the digimon at Etemon's camp before we do anything about Puppetmon. Any digimon held captive there will be killed before we get close."

"Are you going to tell us whatever was on your mind back at the temple now, Tamer?" Sora asked him seriously, "Come on, you said you weren't going to keep any more secrets. If there's a way to get them to stop fighting, we're all ears."

"I said I would tell you guys whatever you needed to know," Tamer crossed his arms defiantly, "But you're right, although I'm betting that Izzy will be the only one who can keep up. I looked into that 'Spiral Mountain' thing Leomon was talking about and found that not only is the Digital World warped into the shape of a spiral, but there's a void at the base on the mountain. A big gap in reality that seems to be distorting the Digital World which would explain why it was in the sky in the Real World. 'Boring' is probably having a bigger headache than I am trying to figure it out. Which leads to what DemiDevimon told me in the tent - he says the Dark Masters aren't in charge, they're trying to destroy the Digital World to create a gap in reality big enough to let…something through. Which begs the question - what could be so big that you'd need a hole in reality that big to let it in?"

"You mean like when we came to the Digital World?" Izzy asked quietly. Tamer nodded, "Sort of, except we came through gates. Think like a door that you open and close - that's what we've been doing. What the Dark Masters are doing is more like tearing down walls because the door wouldn't be as much fun. Actually, now that I think about it-"

"Don't," Sora reprimanded the boy, "You've blown up enough stuff. The last thing we need is you blowing up walls to enter a room."

"So what can we do about it?" Mimi asked, "Because I am not going to sit here while the Digital World gets destroyed."

Izzy was tired of mulling things over and flat out stated, "It doesn't seem like there's much we can do. The different domains of Spiral Mountain dissipate with each Dark Master. If we defeat them, the zones fall apart and whatever it is they're trying to summon will show up. If we don't defeat them, then they'll just finish doing whatever they're doing and summon whatever they're summoning in the process."

"Oh man! So we're in trouble no matter what we do," Matt slammed his forehead, "This sucks."

TK frowned, still thinking on Puppetmon's near shift over to their side, "Can we even save the Digital World?"

"Yes, we can," Mimi declared, "I'm not going to give up! Not after everything we've won and we've lost. We've come too far! This is what we're supposed to do, isn't it? Then let's do it!"

"Yeah! We'll see this all the way through to the end," Palmon agreed excitedly. Matt crossed his arms and said definitively, "I guess that means we'll be going after Puppetmon. Before that, we'll need to persuade these guys to not fight each other long enough to fight him. Which we really need to do something about."

"That'll be easy. TK can take care of it. They'll listen to him," Tamer nudged the little boy forward and his eyes widened in surprise, "Me? Why would they listen to me? This is my fault! If I hadn't tried to save Puppetmon, he wouldn't have escaped. And Cockatrimon wouldn't be gone either!"

"Come on buddy. Don't blame yourself for this. You were just trying to save some lives," Matt assured his little brother, but it didn't do much to appease him. Tamer made a point of contradicting Matt aloud, "No. TK's got a point. If he didn't try to talk Puppetmon into joining our side, we would be down one Dark Master and up an ally in Cockatrimon. And you know what else? It almost worked. Puppetmon looked like he was going to listen which means you did something I couldn't - convince a Dark Master to stop being a Dark Master. More importantly, you yelled at me in front of both Leomon and ShogunGekomon without getting me to snap back. You literally gave me a command and I listened."

"So what? We all tell you to shut up every once in a while," Gomamon pointed out. Tamer laughed, "True, but you've never shouted down two highly regarded digimon and me at the same time. I'm pretty sure both of them will listen to whatever you have to say if you tell them to."

"Are you sure they'll listen to him? I mean how is he supposed to tell them to work together?" Tentomon asked worriedly as the two sides started arguing more loudly, forcing their digimon to get ready to fight. WarGreymon answered, "The same way he did before. Just start shouting."

"I get the feeling I'm being made fun of," TK sighed and Patamon asked, "Can we even tell?"

"I'd just take it as a compliment," WarGreymon suggested to them. After some deliberation, Sora went into Leomon's camp and Mimi went into ShogunGekomon's. Mimi's rapport with ShogunGekomon was based entirely on her singing voice, but he was more than willing to meet the digidestined at the center of the camp at her request. Leomon was more cautious but Sora was able to convince him when he understood that ShogunGekomon would be going. His warrior's pride at stake, he went to meet with ShogunGekomon. Both thought it would be Tamer moderating between them but TK was the one who spoke with them when they gathered. The boy was nervous, clearly unprepared for his role but he did the best he could.

Both digimon listened attentively to the boy who so easily yelled down Tamer earlier that night, "So…um…look, I know you guys are mad at each other but there are more important things you should be doing! We have to beat Puppetmon and MetalEtemon and free all the prisoners at MetalEtemon's camp! And we can't do that if you guys are always arguing! We all have to work together! So can you guys stop fighting long enough to do that?"

The two digimon eyed each other viciously, neither wanting to back down as it would imply they were in the wrong. With a small elbow from Tamer, TK added, "I said stop fighting!"

"We didn't do anything," Leomon replied defensively.

"You were thinking it and that's just as bad!" TK said angrily, although his size made it more cute than terrifying, "We have to stop the bad guys, so get over it! We already know that it was DemiDevimon who was making you guys fight. Why can't you guys just grow up!?"

"I'd listen to him if I were you," Tamer nodded at neither one in particular, leading both to assume it was addressed to the other. The two digimon leaders looked at each other silently. Both sighed at the same time, but it was ShogunGekomon who spoke first, "I suppose I was quick to judge you a traitor."

"Yes, well, I did favor my blade over my words," Leomon admitted to his own fault. Both digimon spent more time apologizing to each other until Tamer broke the exchanges with his remarks, "Okay, are we all good? No one's going to try and attack anyone for no reason?"

"I think we're as good as we're going to get," Leomon nodded quietly, "What are we going to do about the escaped Dark Master?"

"What's there to get? We go to MetalEtemon's camp, bust our way in, kick serious butt, rescue the digimon there, catch Puppetmon, and get out," Matt stated point by point, "We can take care of him once we're in the last zone."

Leomon asked again, "But how? We've tried before but were never able to get close because of the Dark Network. Not to mention MetalEtemon. He's in a league of his own in that form."

"Maybe, but how much of a league can he be in when he has to go against all of us?" Gabumon beamed, motioning to himself and all the other digimon present, "Plus, we have you guys to help us and Leomon can become SaberLeomon!"

"That doesn't answer how we'll get past the Dark Network," ShogunGekomon spoke up, "It blew us apart last time! That thing is practically alive - like it knew what we were going to do before we did it!"

"Here's a thought: what if we attacked the network directly?" Izzy asked aloud. Digimon on both sides looked at him quietly and he explained, "It's just a thought but the Dark Network is made up of a series of tubes and cables, correct? And we've seen them before back at Koromon Village - they were alive with electricity and whatever. Assuming they work on the same principles as electricity and telecommunications in the Real World, why not just hack into an access point and take it out? A sudden surge of energy through them may not damage the cables themselves, but it might do irreparable damage to any electrical equipment they're connected to. And while we're in it, we might as well give them some problems."

"What?"

"Huh?"

"Was that a sentence?"

He received more confused looks than he anticipated, although Tamer seemed excited, "Izzy, you're a genius, and I'm going to hug you now. Possibly kiss, but let's start with the hug and see where that goes."

"No thanks. Please don't," Izzy said just as he found himself wrapped in Tamer's arms. Sora wasted no time in covering Kari's eyes, "Wait, so what's happening here?"

"Like Izzy said. We overload the Dark Network. If we don't destroy it, we'll at least damage it!" Tamer said excitedly, still wrapped around Izzy. Flustered, the computer whiz squirmed out from under him, "Okay! Get off already! This is just an idea anyway. We won't be able to get in without an access point."

"Leave that to us," WarGreymon pounded his chest plate, "We planted a bug in it, remember? We'll take you to an access point."

* * *

After a troubled night's rest, their entire group cleared the camp: the digidestined and their partners numbered sixteen, ShogunGekomon's troop of Gekomon and Otamamon, Leomon's group of Agumon, the Numemon, Meramon, Andromon, Centarumon, and all the others they had with them. All together, their fighting group numbered just over a hundred. It wasn't the most impressive of armies but it was a force that could put up a fight.

Izzy, Tentomon, WarGreymon and Tamer went to disable the network while the rest of their group waited just at the edge of the Dark Network. The access point they found was unguarded and unprotected - out in the open for anyone to approach. WarGreymon went ahead of them to make sure it was truly abandoned before signaling it was safe to the others. Tamer, Izzy, and Tentomon followed quickly and they waited while Izzy connected his computer to an outlet beside a large terminal.

Izzy opened a terminal emulator on his computer and began entering in commands as he could think of them with some suggestions from Tamer. The commands would send random signals all along the Dark Network in an attempt to confuse any digimon monitoring the system. His personal favorite was a command that gave erroneous weather reports to the entire Dark Network - with Tamer's help, the day's forecast became blizzards and typhoons. Tamer had him put in commands that would trigger false alarms coming from the other side of MetalEtemon's Camp.

After sending hundreds of erroneous signals to throw off MetalEtemon and his lackeys, Izzy unplugged his laptop and nodded to Tentomon. The little bug digivolved to his champion level and dug his claws straight into the outlet before crying, "Electroshocker!"

The surge of electricity sent sparks up and down the substation. Tamer and Izzy backed away as the current arced through the air around them, popping and hissing. The current traveled from the terminal and into the black cables burying themselves into the ground. The cables shook as the current spread along them until they started smoking and lay motionless, signaling the damage they'd managed to do.

Having completed their mission, they set out to join the others.

* * *

Sora waited with the rest of their group at the edge of the Dark Network. Time ticked by slowly at a snail's pace and one of the Gekomon became impatient, "How much longer do we have to wait?"

"However long it takes for the others to take out the Dark Network," Leomon said cautiously, drumming his fingers along the grip of his sword. Palmon added, "Knowing Tamer, he'll probably blow the entire thing up."

With a sudden surge of electrical current, they watched cables rise out of the earth and disappear above the tree tops. After a few moments, the crackling sound of electricity died and the cables came crashing down to the earth. Leomon drew his sword, "The Network is down! They did it!"

The entire army began their forward march towards MetalEtemon's camp. Mimi stopped when she noticed Palmon standing with her shoulders slumped. Mimi asked, "What's wrong Palmon?"

"Nothing, just a little disappointed," Palmon said. As if on cue, another spark coursed along the cable and it came aflame. Palmon jumped back, "Its not an explosion but I guess that's close enough."

"Palmon, were you looking forward to an explosion?" Mimi asked her plant partner. The two started walking, taking care to avoid the burning cable and rejoin the others. Palmon answered, "Nah. It's just weird when there isn't one. Come on we're falling behind."

"You don't think the rest of these will start burning too, will they?" TK asked aloud, kicking one of the cables as he walked past. Matt replied with a sharp kick of his own, "No way, they're cooked. There's no way they can move after this."

They pressed forward in total silence until they reached a large clearing in the middle of the forest. In the center was a large camp surrounded on all sides by a ten foot high electric fence topped with barbed wire. Within, they saw digimon lined up along the fences facing out fearfully at the electric fences in front of them. The smaller digimon cowered quietly while the larger ones struggled against chains and ropes to prevent their escape. Gazimon and Tyrannomon patrolled just behind the line of digimon, patiently scanning just beyond the fence for any sign of attackers. Leomon clicked his tongue angrily, "Those dirty cowards. They're using the digimon as shields - if we try to attack, they'll push them into the fences."

"I guess Izzy and Tamer messing with the Dark Network put them on their guard," Joe said while watching the Gazimon hurry about the camp with stage equipment.

"It doesn't look like they know we're here yet," Matt observed of the Gazimon who scanned the woods, occasionally looking their way but never for long and always looking in another direction anxiously. Sora pointed out one in a wooden watchtower using a pair of binoculars, "That's the one we'll need to be beat first. If that Gazimon sees us, the entire place will find out."

"How do we do that without them finding out we're here?" Gomamon asked. Sora thumbed at Wizardmon, "He can teleport, right? Just teleport there, grab him, and teleport back!"

"Bad idea. They'll know something is wrong once they notice he's not there," Wizardmon replied, "And there's too many for me to teleport out of the way at once."

Kari looked out at the camp sadly, "There has to be something we can-"

Before she could finish, a spotlight appeared in the sky projecting a large image of MetalEtemon. They all went quiet as he spoke, "Alright! Listen up-up-up digi-dorks! Y'all got a lotta nerve-erve-erve showing up after the beat-bea-beatdown last time. But I'm not fittin' to fight no body right now. Uh-huh, so Imma cu-cu-cut a deal. Y'all little kids beat-eat-eat it and I won't throw no digimon into the fence. Uh-huh!"

"Yeah that's right! So you bullies go away!" Puppetmon's voice echoed quietly. Leomon tightened his hold on his sword, but Sora was able to keep him from charging in. The image of MetalEtemon grumbled, "Can it little-tle-tle puppet dude. I said I was gonna do all the talkin', ya hear?"

"And don't you think I'll listen to any more of your nice words! Liars are always liars!" Puppetmon wailed as he pushed MetalEtemon out of the way to look at the camera. TK felt a pang of shame upon seeing his face, feeling that Puppetmon had explicitly called him out. MetalEtemon growled, "Listen up! I'm the star of this show! You better get your face off camera you bird brained little-"

"I don't have birds in my brain monkey butt!" Puppetmon snapped back.

"If your material was half as good as Puppetmon's, your music career might actually go somewhere," someone said. MetalEtemon barked, "Who said-aid that? Why don't ya say it to mah face? Uh-huh!"

"I would if you'd just look up."

The projection paned up to reveal both Tamer and WarGreymon hovering just overhead, "You know you're really bad at paying attention to your surroundings."

Their group scanned the skies and found the two just above the camp, baffling all present. This was exactly like them to go in like this and surprise everyone - in fact, the digidestined were annoyed that they didn't anticipate this happening. Only Mimi noticed the obvious, "Wait, where's Izzy and Tentomon?"

As soon as she said that, Izzy appeared beside them, "There you guys are! Tamer came up with a plan to take down the fence but I need Andromon'a help."

"Huh? Andromon? Wait a second, what plan are you talking about?" Joe asked anxiously, "No one said anything about a plan! We were still trying to think of what to do."

"Yeah, well, we should all know by now that those guys don't like to tell us everything. I know they said it was my idea to attack the Dark Network directly, but it's starting to seem they planned this out a long time ago," Izzy stated matter of factly, "He wants Andromon to wire himself to the electric fence. Then he just wants him to start shooting."

"I see. He wants me to overcharge on the fence's own electricity and use the excess to power my weaponry. This could drain the fence and give me the power necessary to combat MetalEtemon. Updating primary mission parameters," Andromon buzzed. Izzy cocked his head to the side and answered, "I guess that means yes. Come on. I'll show you where the set up is."

"Wait. What are the rest of us supposed to do?" Kari asked Izzy before he could leave. He could only shrug, "No idea. I didn't even know he had a plan until he started telling me what to do."

"That's encouraging," Joe adjusted his glasses to better fit in anticipation of the fighting. Mimi huffed and pointed out the digimon along the fence, "We're the digidestined! Why do we care what Tamer is doing? Let's save those digimon the first chance we get. That should be the first thing we do!"

"Mimi's right!" Palmon agreed. That was the last Izzy heard from them. He led the way to a nearby substation where Tentomon was waiting beside a pried open socket on the side of one of the panels. Andromon produced a set of cables from his back and Izzy connected them to the correct ports. As soon as he connected the last cable, a powerful spark of electricity kicked him back onto the ground and Andromon quivered with the newly available energy flowing in to him, "Power cells charging - current charge at ninety-eight percent. Diverting excess power into primary armaments. Preparing to fire primary weapon. Locking on to target. Target locked. Firing in three, two, one!"

His arm turned into a cannon and the shoulder mounted laser appeared. He aimed both towards the camp and fired a burst of blue light that was so bright that it dimmed the world around them. The blast disappeared behind the trees and they felt the ground shake with the sound of the thunder. From this distance, they could feel the impact as a sudden gust of wind blew past. Izzy looked to his partner Tentomon, "Prodigious."

"That one hurt them!" Tentomon commented, "But we should go and help the others!"

"Right, Will you be okay Andromon?" Izzy asked.

"Affirmative," the droid answered before firing another round into the forest. Izzy and Tentomon took their leave to rejoin the others, mentally preparing themselves for whatever they would encounter.

* * *

MetalEtemon grew furious at the sight of the crater that had once been the storage site for his sound equipment. He growled, "Ya'll are gonna-na-na be paying for tha-that one! Ya hear me Digimon Tamer! I'm the king of-of-of music and you're on my stage now! Boys! Let the prisoners have it!"

He waited for the bemused smile on Tamer and WarGreymon's faces to disappear only to find them still smiling. Which made his smile all the wider at the thought of them realizing what was about to happen the digimon. Two of his Gazimon kicked a pair of Gotsumon into the fence and were shocked to find them unaffected by the electrical current coursing through it. The smile on MetalEtemon's face disappeared and he demanded, "Hey now! What gives? Fry those digidummies!"

One of the Gazimon touched the fence and commented, "The fence is down boss!"

"What! How?" MetalEtemon's scowl grew wider as he turned on the Digimon Tamer and WarGreymon, "You! What did you two do-do-do? Are ya'll trying-ing-ing to make a monkey outta me?"

"Nothing! We've literally just been standing here watching you two bicker," WarGreymon pointed out both Puppetmon and MetalEtemon. Tamer corrected, "Technically, we've been hovering."

WarGreymon ignored him and pointed at the little wooden puppet beside them, "Besides, why would we make an idiot out of you? We don't want anything to do with you. We're after Puppetmon."

"Yeah, because you guys are a bunch of meanies!" Puppetmon stamped his feet on the ground and revealed a flurry of strings, "TAKE THIS!"

"Brave Shield!" WarGreymon used his shield to block the strings. MetalEtemon took personal insult at being overlooked in favor of the puppet and shouted, "HEY! WHAT DO YOU GU-GUYS MEAN YOU WANT HIM!? I'M THE-THE STAR OF THIS SHOW!"

"You're last year's news," Tamer said from behind WarGreymon's shield, "Why not get out of the way you has been!"

"HAS BEEN THIS! DARK SPIRIT DELUXE!" MetalEtemon created a downward motion with his hand, beckoning the skies to darken and summon a bolt of black lightning to strike downwards. Both Tamer and WarGreymon only had enough time to see it before it struck both of them. The two plummeted towards the ground in silence and MetalEtemon jeered at a moment of victory - ready to crush both under his own feet in triumph. Or he would have if Kabuterimon didn't appear from on high and caught them both in the air with his hands.

Without warning, another blast of light came from the distance and blew apart the camp's only guard tower. Roars erupted from the trees, and an army of digimon led by the digidestined charged towards the camp. MetalEtemon adjusted his sunglasses to make sure this wasn't a trick of the eye before grumbling, "Oh, I see. You two-two brought more fans for me to ple-ple-please. That's fine by me, Uh-huh. I've been wanting to try-try-try this new piece for a while. Gazi-digi-dude! Get me my guitar and a microphone! Uh-huh!"

"Yes sir, mister MetalEtemon, sir!" a Gazimon saluted and retreated further into the camp, only to be blown apart by another of Andromon's blasts. Garudamon led the charge by knocking over the fence with the help of Lillymon and Zudomon. MetalEtemon remembered his last encounter with the giant bird and rounded on his digimon with commands, "Alright-ight-ight! Let's finish the digidestined punks-unks once and for all! But that bird is mine, got it?"

"Yessir!" his group of digimon saluted. The monkey smiled his approval and pointed ahead, "NOW HAVE-AVE FUN BOYS!"

Tyrannomon and Monochromon charged to meet the digidestined's digimon. The first few digimon - Gekomon, Numemon, Agumon, and Otamamon fought the Gazimon back and protected the prisoner digimon they were trying to free. The larger prisoner digimon - Frigimon, Unimon, and Monzaemon - joined the fight and forced his digimon to split their attention between the prisoners and the digidestined. With the aid of the digidestined, they easily pushed his own digimon back and so MetalEtemon decided to throw himself into the fray, aiming straight for Garudamon flying around above, "It's time to ground-ground-round-ound this bird! Uh-huh! Dark Spirit Deluxe!"

* * *

A bolt of black lightning fell from the heavens and clipped Garudamon's body. She shrieked from the shock, landing with a thump on the ground. Sora watched in her horror; her friend regressing back to her rookie form and defenseless in the middle of the fight. MetalGarurumon and Angemon circled around her so that Wizardmon could teleport her away to safety. As soon as Wizardmon was away, MetalEtemon charged forward through the two - easily picking up MetalGarurumon and throwing him into the angel digimon, "Outta my way-ay-ay! Uh-huh! It's time for a lil' payback against that bird-ird-ird!"

"Biyomon! Are you okay?" Sora cried out in panic for her partner as she lay on the ground. Wizardmon pointed out the oncoming danger of MetalEtemon and said, "I think we have other things to worry about."

"I've got him," Zudomon put himself between MetalEtemon and the others, swinging his hammer over his head before crashing it down on top of the monkey, "Vulcan's Hammer!"

The attack failed to produce any sparks of electricity, surprising everyone as they realized MetalEtemon caught the hammer before it crushed him under its weight, "Wha-what-at did you digidorks think you were going to do? Uh-huh! Do you even lift digi-bro-bro-bro?"

"Can you be more annoying? Flower Cannon!" Lillymon appeared beside him and took a shot with the cannon in her arms. She aimed the blast so that it struck MetalEtemon from the side and kicked him out from under the hammer. He rolled along the ground and came to a halt at the foot of Puppetmon, "What do you think-ink-ink you're doing ya dumb puppet? Help me out!"

"Right! I don't like those meanies anyway! Puppet Pummel!" the puppet raised his hammer up and fired a volley of bullets from a barrel mounted on the head. Zudomon and Lillymon scattered out of the line of fire while Angemon and Angewomon swooped in from above for the counterattack. As their digimon fought, Kabuterimon landed beside them holding both Tamer and Agumon. The two struggled to stand and Kari was quick to be beside her brother, "Tai! Agumon! Are you okay?"

"We're fine," he answered, "Watching this fight is making my head hurt."

"Please stop trying to get yourselves killed," Kari commanded more than asked of the boy who continued watching the fighting. Each of the digimon on their side had paired off against another digimon on MetalEtemon's side - both fighting the other to the death. Amidst the fighting, they could make out Leomon sparring with his old enemy Ogremon. The two traded blows but always came to stand still in their fight. Izzy asked, "I don't get it. Why doesn't Leomon digivolve to SaberLeomon?"

"His warrior's pride," Agumon mumbled quietly, "He'll only fight an enemy with as much strength as he needs. To use any more would be dishonorable or something like that."

"What about when we were fighting MetalEtemon when he showed up to rescue Puppetmon?" Matt asked the little dinosaur. Agumon blinked, "If you're going to ask me questions about every little thing, we're going to be powderized by-"

"He's got me!" Lillymon wailed. The digidestined looked over to see the pixie digimon flailing wildly in the air while Puppetmon controlled her to attack the other digimon. Zudomon tried to stop her by grabbing hold of her leg, only to be pulled along himself Puppetmon moved her around the air. He was interrupted when another of Andromon's blasts struck the ground nearby him, knocking him off his feet. Wizardmon saw an opportunity and teleported beside the pixie to cut her free of the strings. Lillymon thanked her rescuer and Wizardmon prepared to teleport away. Puppetmon saw this and stamped his foot angrily, "You again!? No Fair! NO FAIR! I'LL GET YOU! TAKE THIS!"

He set out another web of strings that scattered around the field, capturing many digimon indiscriminate of which side they were on. MetalEtemon, Leomon, MetalGarurumon, several Tyrannomon and Agumon, as well as Ogremon were caught up in the web of strings. Digimon on both sides wasted no time in trying to cut the strings to save their allies, but Puppetmon always threw out more and more strings to capture Wizardmon. In the process, he caught more and more digimon while angrily cackling, "I will get you, you dumb wizard!"

For his part, Wizardmon teleported around the camp to avoid getting caught in the web while freeing anyone he could. MetalEtemon was quick to call out the puppet digimon, "Hey-ey-ey! What do you think you're doing-oing you dumb puppet? Uh-huh! Let me go!"

"SHUT UP! YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!" Puppetmon growled angrily while he threw out more strings wildly. MetalEtemon shouted angrily, "I'm the star-ar-ar of th-th-this show and th-th-this star can't do nuthin' when-en-en he's tied up on stage! This ain't that kinda show, uh-huh! Now-ow see here! Let me go!"

"I said shut up!" Puppetmon threw his arms angrily and propelled MetalEtemon into the air. In that brief moment, MetalEtemon took hold of the strings controlling him and yanked on them hard enough to pull Puppetmon towards him. The entire web moved with the puppet and threw digimon trapped in there along with him. They screamed loudly while they used that brief moment of being airborne to fight their bonds. Leomon and Ogremon easily sliced through their strings, and resumed their battle. They traded blows once but Leomon kicked Ogremon aside after his last swing, "Let me through! I have bigger fish to deal with at the moment."

With a flash of light the lion digimon digivolved, "Leomon! Warp Digivolve to! SaberLeomon!"

The lion digimon charged straight ahead towards where Puppetmon and MetalEtemon landed on the far side of the camp, in the middle of the digimon still fighting. In that moment, Puppetmon used his hammer to fire another barrage of attacks on the metal monkey who stood his ground, "Hah! That ain't gonna-na-na work on me-e-e! This skin's made of chrome digizoid-oid-oid, the toughest metal in the whole Digital World!"

"Then how about this?" SaberLeomon cried out before striking at MetalEtemon's flesh. He wasn't strong enough to break the armor but was able to knock the monkey back. The metal monkey growled in frustration, "Hey now! Will ya'll stop trying to up-up-upstage the star! This is-is-is my show!"

"Nobody cares about you or your show MetalEtemon!" Mimi stamped her foot angrily, "We're not even here for you! You want to go back to your music career so bad? Then why not shut up and get out of the way!"

"Oh, look who's tellin' me off-off-off! The Madonna-wanna-be with the singin' voice! Well how about you shut up and take-take-ake this! Dark Spirit Deluxe!" MetalEtemon waved his fingers through the air and called down a bolt of dark lightning from the sky. Mimi looked up in shock, expecting to be electrocuted by the dark bolt until SaberLeomon appeared above her, "NO!"

The lion screamed as the bolt struck his body and he fell into a roll, sliding to a stop in front of Puppetmon. The puppet angrily used his hammer to hurl the lion further away, "GO AWAY! I DON'T WANNA PLAY WITH YOU!"

The strike knocked Leomon all the way to the digidestined, who were stunned by the sight of the fallen digimon before them. He struggled to get up but was finished when Puppetmon crashed his hammer down upon his head, flattening his skull and turning him to data. Pushed by anger, Angewomon and Angemon attacked the Dark Master and the monkey digimon, "Celestial Arrow!"

"Hand of Fate!"

Puppetmon dodged out of the way while MetalEtemon tanked the hit and boasted, "C'mon! You guys ain't got-ot-ot nothing on this! This glist-glist-glistening metal body-dy-dy is sculpted-ed-ed perfection! Courte-te-tesy of Data-ta-ta-tamon-on-on!"

"I think that _perfect_ body knocked a few screws loose," Lillymon commented of the digimon. Agumon groaned, "Tell me about it."

"MetalGarurumon! How fast are you be able to hit MetalEtemon?" Tamer asked the mega level digimon. The wolf answered, "How fast do you want me to hit him?"

"Full Speed!" Tamer replied. MetalGarurumon asked, "Care to share?"

"MetalEtemon is made of chrome digizoid! The only thing that'll break that is chrome digizoid. Or something hot enough to melt chrome digizoid but I have no idea where we're going to find an active volcano right now. So just him really hard," Tamer said certainly, "But before that: Zudomon! Throw your hammer at MetalEtemon!"

"Why?"

"Chrome digizoid! Pay attention! Just do it!" Tamer pointed at the metal monkey. Confused, Zudomon threw the hammer as hard as he could at the monkey. The monkey braced itself for the impact and caught the hammer between his arms, smirking, "You guys are going to have to do better than that to get the drop on old Etemon!"

"Then how's this?" MetalGarurumon growled as the rockets on his body roared to life. In a flash, MetalGarurumon fired himself at MetalEtemon and pushed the hammer with all his might so that it slammed into MetalEtemon. The force was enough to crack the monkey's metal flesh and expose a weak point for the others to concentrate their attacks on. Unfortunately, the monkey was too distraught by the damage to his visage to care that he was in immediate danger, "My body-dy-dy! My beau-beau-beautiful body-dy-dy-dy!"

"Hand of Fate!"

"Celestial Arrow!"

"Flower Cannon!"

"Electroshocker!"

"Magical Game!"

MetalEtemon was too stricken by the damage to his skin to notice the attacks and was promptly struck by the combination. He didn't even have the time to let out a scream as he turned to data and vanished. This left them with one Dark Master to battle - Puppetmon who needed to be taken alive for the battle to be over. Sensing the danger, the puppet threw out his strings in an attempt to capture as many digimon as possible to protect himself, "You won't get me! Take this!"

"Puppetmon! Stop! You don't have to do this!" TK shouted another loud plea to the Dark Master, only for the puppet to snap, "SHUT UP! YOU MADE ME THINK WE COULD BE FRIENDS! I HATE YOU! I! HATE! YOU!"

TK shied in defeat, hurt that the puppet ignored him. Matt assured the little boy, "You tried your best buddy, but a digimon like him doesn't deserve to have a friend like you."

Puppetmon's strings latched themselves onto anything in sight. Once again, Wizardmon took action and began teleporting around the battlefield to free as many of the digimon on their side as possible. Puppetmon saw exactly what he wanted to and smiled, "Got you! Take this!"

Another wave of strings scattered around the battlefield, focused mainly on the digimon who were still captured. Wizardmon appeared beside one of those digimon just as the strings wrapped around him, snaring him in the trap, "Gah!"

"Wizardmon!" Angewomon cried out in despair, afraid to lose her friend again, "Let him go!"

Puppetmon replied by sticking his tongue out at her, "Make me!"

"Fine!" without hesitation, she took aim at the Dark Master. Sora watched Puppetmon strum his fingers readily and tried to warn the angel, "Angewomon! Wait!"

"Celestial Arrow!"

"BULLY! PICK ON THIS!" Puppetmon shouted as he pulled on the strings and brought Wizardmon directly in the path of the arrow. Time froze as Wizardmon's eyes widened in utter shock. The attack went clean through the chest and left his body limp as it crashed back onto the ground. Before anyone could say anything, Wizardmon's body turned to data and vanished. Silence was all the digidestined could muster as his body turned to nothing. Angewomon silently sank to the ground in shock, reeling from the realization that she was the one who had ended her friend's life. Puppetmon was the only one who could form words, "Hmph. Serves you mean old digidestined right! Now let's finish this! Take this!"

With a snap of his fingers, Puppetmon took control of several more digimon and had them charge the digidestined while he cackled mischievously. Angewomon was still reeling from what had occurred so Angemon and Agumon both took positions around her to hold the attacking digimon back. They had no qualms fighting the digimon under MetalEtemon's control, but the digimon on their side were thrown aside to protect them from any harm. It seemed that capturing Puppetmon would be impossible at this rate.

Then an idea came to Sora - they didn't want to hurt the digimon on their side even though they were under Puppetmon's control. Control with strings. She called out to the others, "Guys! Grab our friends!"

"We're trying not to hurt them!" MetalGarurumon said back as he jabbed another Gazimon. Sora explained, "They're being controlled by Puppetmon's strings! If you grab them and move around-"

"I get it! Sora! You're a genius!" Tamer said suddenly. Sora threw her hands up defensively, "Don't hug or kiss me or anything!"

"If you insist. Come on Agumon!" Tamer said, dashing ahead.

"On it!" the little orange dinosaur ran up beside him and grabbed a Yokomon that was flung through the air. Tamer grabbed a Gotsumon which he threw over his shoulder and the two started running in a large circle around the puppet in opposite directions. The puppet watched them in confusion, "Hey! What are you doing? Stop it!"

He pulled on the strings to make the two digimon fly out of their hands, but they only grabbed other digimon. Watching these two work made it clear to the others what Sora's plan was. Angemon, Lillymon, Zudomon, and Kabuterimon grabbed the digimon being whipped through the air and started running as fast as they could around the puppet in different directions. The puppet shouted, "STOP IT! YOU'RE MAKING ME DIZZY! MEANIES!"

Then he noticed that he wasn't able to move, trapped by his own strings that he'd been using to control other digimon. In his confusion, he failed to realize that they had been tying him with his own strings. Once their partners were close enough to tie the knots, they cut the strings to free the imprisoned digimon. Agumon and Tamer double knotted everything around the captured Puppetmon, then kicked him to the ground to make sure he couldn't escape. A quick glance around showed them that the battle had won. ShogunGekomon had been able to lead the rest of the digimon to fighting off MetalEtemon's digimon, forcing them to run from the camp. This should have been the end of the fighting and a victory for them. But this did nothing for the empty, hollow feeling in the pit of their stomachs.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** There is only one Dark Master left out in the Digital World. Can the digidestined pub through to defeat him? What will happen now that they've lost more friends? Find out next time on the next chapter of The Tamer - A Digimon Adventure, due out next Friday January 13th 5 PM CST. If you liked it, why not favorite, follow, and leave a review? I love hearing your feedback and am always happy to reply as soon as the website will let me. As a reminder, guest reviews need to be signed to get a response and please only leave one per chapter. Responses will come in the next chapter's Author's Notes. That's all for now! Let's show some previews for next chapter!

Ogremon shot him a wicked glare, "Is this the face of a digimon who's kidding?"

"It's kinda hard to tell when you always look like you have to poop," TK pointed out.

"Okay, but Izzy going to get jealous," Palmon answered before stepping back to leave her partner alone with Tamer.

"Back at that house you had, the one under the lake, who were you talking to? The one in that white stone?" Mimi asked curiously.

Without a word of warning, Gatomon leapt onto the boy and pinned him to the ground with one claw raised above the rest, "DID YOU KNOW!?"


	50. Piedmon

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

Author's Notes: Good evening readers! Welcome to another exciting installment of The Tamer A Digimon Adventure! I want to thank all the readers who left reviews and followed or favorited the story. A special thanks goes out to reader Ace Spiritwell for their work in producing the cover art for the Tamer A Digimon Adventure. Finally, this is a reminder that guest reviews need to be signed to earn a response. I won't waste anymore time, all I ask is that you guys enjoy the chapter!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 50: Piedmon**

It took the digidestined several trips to get to the final zone of the Digital World - a barren wasteland devoid of sunlight reminiscent of the realm around the Myotismon's Castle. It took them several trips to transport everyone from the forest zone - the rescued prisoners, the digimon from Leomon and ShogunGekomon's armies, and the remaining leader himself. ShogunGekomon required both Garudamon and MegaKabuterimon to carry him at the same time because of his size and weight alone. The digimon who worked for MetalEtemon fled the camp as soon as he was defeated and the Dark Master Puppetmon was captured.

Despite their victory, the mood quiet for an obvious reason - their losses were much greater than expected even though they'd taken down the Dark Network. In total, the number of fighting digimon after the battle had stayed roughly the same after their losses were counted even with their gains. The deaths of Leomon and Wizardmon weighed heavily on both the Agumons' and digidestined's minds - but nowhere nearly as bad as it did on Mimi's as she felt personally responsible for what happened to Leomon.

Everyone dealt with it in their own way. Gatomon especially had become uncharacteristically reserved and only gave one word responses when she was spoken to. This didn't stop TK, Patamon, or Kari from trying to cheer her up. Izzy kept himself busy by referencing the database on his laptop to find a way to beat Piedmon, specifically looking for something that didn't say 'run away'. Matt tried to liven the mood with his harmonica but was only able to produce melancholic melodies. Joe provided medical help to any injured digimon with some help from Gomamon but his supplies were low and there was little else for him to do. Sora helped coordinate MetalGarurumon, Garudamon, MegaKabuterimon, and WarGreymon with transporting the digimon across the zones. For her part, Palmon helped her partner by creating mounds on with sticks atop them like graves.

Tamer passively observed and asked the girl, "Who are these for?"

She pointed to each one down the line as she answered, "Gotsumon, Pumpkinmon, Agumon, Gekomon, Otamamon, Piximon, Leomon, Wizardmon, and my mom."

He nodded quietly, "It hurts to lose someone, but it's part of the deal. Everyone has their own way of handling it. I'll let you have yours."

"Hey, Tamer," Mimi said before he turned to leave, "I always meant to ask. Um…Palmon, could we have a minute?"

"What's going on?" Palmon cocked her head to the side curiously. Tamer patted the little flower on her head, "I wouldn't worry about it. We'll be right here."

"Mimi?" Palmon eyed her partner worriedly. Mimi nodded, "It'll be okay Palmon. I just want a minute."

"Okay, but Izzy is going to get jealous," Palmon answered before stepping back to leave her partner alone with Tamer. Tamer clasped his hands behind his back, "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Back at that house you had, the one under the lake, who were you talking to? The one in that white stone?" Mimi asked curiously. Silence was the only answer he gave so Mimi pressed the question, "That thing that took over Kari. It showed us that he past - and how you got stuck in the Digital World. There was that guy in that vision - the one who found you. It was him, wasn't it? Jenna or Ginger or whatever."

Tamer still didn't answer but she noticed his gaze shifting over to Izzy, then Sora, and finally Kari. He finally cracked a smile, "It was someone who was supposed to be here, but couldn't. So I'm here instead to do what they can't."

"Does it ever get any easier?" she asked him quietly. He shook his head, "No. It never does. In a way, that's a good thing though. If you think about it, the fact that it hurts means that it was someone you cared about. So if it didn't hurt, that could only mean you didn't care. And I don't think you'll ever be that kind of person."

He parted with a nod to check in on Kari and Gatomon, leaving Mimi to finish making the mounds for the ones they'd lost. Palmon took Tamer's departure to mean it was okay to talk and came back, "What did you two talk about?"

"Just a secret," Mimi answered, giving a soft wink to Palmon that left the plant confused, "You know, Izzy's going to freak out if it turns out you actually like Tamer, right?"

Mimi shivered at the idea of her actually dating the boy, "Ew, no way. He's way older than us and still looks our age. Not to mention he's creepy and weird."

"Tamer or Izzy?" Palmon asked with a snicker. Mimi rolled her eyes and returned to working on the mounds.

* * *

Kari slumped down as Gatomon sat on the ground, drawing a circle into the dirt with a single claw. She still appeared to be digesting the fact that Wizardmon was gone even though she'd just got him back after so nearly losing him again. As if the world was determined to make sure they'd be separated. TK and Patamon were cracking jokes to try and get her to smile. Kari wished desperately for her partner to say something and she got her wish the moment Tamer appeared beside them. Without a word of warning, Gatomon leapt onto the boy and pinned him to the ground with one claw raised above the rest, "DID YOU KNOW!?"

"Are we back to trying to kill me Gatomon?" Tamer asked stupidly, "That didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would."

The little cat snarled, "DID YOU KNOW!? DID YOU LET HIM DIE!?"

"Gatomon! Stop!" Kari said, trying to pull her partner off of her brother with Patamon's help. Gatomon responded by digging her claw deeper into Tamer's robes and into his skin, "Ow! OW! Okay! Stop! STOP! I didn't know! GET OFF!"

Gatomon relaxed and finally climbed off his now messy robes. While he straightened himself out, Kari chastised her partner, "Gatomon, you shouldn't have attacked like that."

"I needed to be sure he wasn't lying," Gatomon offered as simply as she could for an explanation. At that time, Sora arrived with the remaining digimon whom they set down on the ground. As the digimon scattered about, Sora joined them while WarGreymon dragged along the captive Puppetmon and DemiDevimon, "We're back."

"What's going on?" Sora asked, noting Tamer's scuffed look and the scowl on Gatomon's face, "You guys weren't fighting were you?"

"She wanted to be sure I wasn't lying when I said I didn't expect Wizardmon to die the way he did," Tamer said as he straightened out his robe. Sora's eyes narrowed curiously, "Did you know?"

"No, I didn't," her brother folded his arms defensively, "You think if I did, I wouldn't have tried to stop him?"

"You were always talking about how he was supposed to die," Gatomon's tone carried her disapproval while he retorted, "I saved his life twice. I'm pretty sure I was trying to keep him from dying."

Gatomon's expression didn't change and the tension between the two became oddly reminiscent of the tension between Tamer and Gomamon. Although she blamed Tamer, it was obvious to everyone that she was consumed with guilt since it was her arrow that killed Wizardmon. There was nothing to be done about it now but to defuse the tension. WarGreymon pulled the two captives forward, "What should we do with them?"

"What else?" Tamer said seriously, nodding at WarGreymon to finish the job. Puppetmon's mouth had been gagged by Tamer so that no one would have to hear him shouting any more but that didn't stop him from casting pleading looks in the direction of the various digidestined and their digimon partners. Kari saw the defeated look in TK as he tried to look away when Puppetmon looked at him for help and understood why. TK offered Puppetmon a helping hand but it was the Dark Master who used Wizardmon as a shield. Kari locked eyes briefly with the Dark Master before Tamer stepped between the two of them. There were no brave words or actions in that moment. Only silence as WarGreymon use his cestus to put a massive claw through Puppetmon's back. The wooden puppet's body twitched once before disappearing into a cloud of data. Then it was DemiDevimon's turn. WarGreymon did the same by putting the claws of his deaths through the bat's face to end her. When all was said and done, Tamer sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Well, that's that."

Even though they'd just beaten another Dark Master, the Digidestined couldn't help but feel terrible about the way it was done. It had to be done after everything that had happened. They just wished it hadn't been done in such a terrible way. WarGreymon stretched and Tamer cracked a tired yawn. Before either of them could retire, they were all approached by the surviving Agumon of Leomon's group. Her brother rested his arms behind his head while one asked, "What should we do now that Leomon's gone?"

"Carry on where he left off. It's what WarGreymon and I have been doing anyway," Tamer replied with a straight face, "I think we should scout the area, make sure that Piedmon's not going to get the jump on us."

"We'll come with you," one Agumon said excitedly, only to be stopped in his tracks by WarGreymon, "No offense to you guys - but you won't be able to cover as much ground as we can. That, and this is Piedmon's turf. If we run into trouble, we won't be able to protect ourselves and you guys at the same time."

The Agumon was downtrodden while Tamer climbed onto his partner's back and took off into the darkened skies. Matt rejoined the group just as they left and asked, "Where are they going?"

"They're going to scout the area," Sora answered, "Garudamon, let's go make sure they don't try to leave without saying a word again."

"They really do like just leaving, don't they?" Garudamon scooped Sora up in her claws. Before they left, the girl said, "The rest of you guys should help set up camp."

"Yeah, good luck," Gatomon clicked her tongue sarcastically as she set off on the giant bird. Kari looked between Gatomon and the group of Agumon nervously looking for guidance on what to do. To her surprise, TK was the one who gave them direction, "Come on. Let's get camp started."

"Uh guys, I think we're forgetting about him," Matt thumbed over at Ogremon who was standing awkwardly just outside the main group. TK looked at his older brother and asked, "Does anyone know what's going on with him?"

"No idea, but he hasn't said or done anything since Leomon...died. But he won't stop following us," one of the Agumon replied. TK watched the green ogre step aside as a pair of Gekomon hurried past him to get supplies for food and thought aloud, "I think I'll go talk to him."

"Do you think that's such a good idea, TK?" Patamon asked, following alongside his partner. TK shrugged, "No idea. But you'll protect me, right?"

"Does any one else get the feeling that my little brother is acting more and more like Tai? Because it's starting to freak me out," Matt said with a sigh. MetalGarurumon nodded, "No, I see it too."

Matt sighed, "Man. I hope this doesn't stick. One Tamer is bad enough. I don't want another one."

"I'm surprised Matt. Before, you'd be worrying over your brother going over to Ogremon by himself - like with Devimon," MetalGarurumon observed pf his partner, "Now you're just watching him go off on his own without a care in the world. It's a little surprising, y'know?"

"I trust him - he knows how to take care of himself. Besides, it's not like I can be there to help him all the time," Matt sighed, "I guess I just realized it'd be better to help him only when he needs it."

"That's really grown up of you Matt," MetalGarurumon commented. Kari watched TK and Patamon carefully, seeing them talk to the big green monster who gave them quizical looks. After they talked to each other for the longest time, all three returned together although Ogremon was unnerved by the apprehensive looks he received from them. TK excitedly reported, "Guys! Ogremon says he'll help us fight Piedmon."

"You're kidding," Matt's eyes widened in disbelief, "You fought us with Puppetmon!"

"No, I fought Leomon," Ogremon growled apprehensively, "That doesn't mean I actually agreed with Puppetmon or MetalEtemon."

"That didn't stop you from helping Devimon," MetalGarurumon said accusingly. Ogremon's eyes narrowed but he calmly explained, "I know you digidestined and I have a bad history so I understand if you don't like me. I don't like you guys either, but that's less to do with you guys and more to do with Leomon."

"Wait, what?" Matt asked the ogre. He seemed to be smiling but it was hard to tell behind the razor sharp teeth, "Yeah, I only ever did what I did to fight Leomon. The ultimate challenge that a warrior digimon like myself needed. The greatest test of skill and might would be to fight and defeat Leomon in mortal combat. We've been fighting for as long as either of us could remember. Whenever there was a war or a conflict, we'd always end up on opposite sides. Sometimes it would be a battle of good vs evil. Other times, it would be a battle of whether the toilet paper goes over or under. One time, it was over whether cake was better than pie. And it was obviously pie but Leomon had to stand with cake. But now that he's gone, I don't know what to do with myself. I spent so long thinking about beating him that I never actually thought about what I'd do after I beat him. Helping you guys out seems like a good place to start if it means I can keep fighting."

"You've gotta be kidding," an Agumon's mouth fell open in disbelief. Ogremon shot him a wicked glare, "Is this the face of a digimon who's kidding?"

"It's kinda hard to tell when you always look like you have to poop," TK pointed out. Kari did her best to hide a laugh and knew TK was right now that he'd pointed it out. Ogremon didn't seem used to being laughed at and sighed, "Whatever. You said we had to set up camp, right? So let's set up camp!"

* * *

Piedmon inspected through his telescope as the forest zone vanished off the face of the Digital World. With a sigh, he looked into the shadows and felt another presence. His lips curled into a smile, "Hello LadyDevimon. Anxious to go?"

"Only to serve," a pale woman emerged from the darkness clad in black leather and chains. The left side over her torso tore apart and held itself over her side in a patter resembling a face. On her back were two black wings folded down to resemble a flowing cape behind her. Beneath her black mask, Piedmon could clearly see the crimson eyes that hungered for blood. Eager to see her work, Piedmon waved his hands in the air, "Take some of the Vilemon with you and go greet our new arrivals. Oh, and do make sure you don't get tangled with the cat."

"Yes, Lord Piedmon," the dark figured disappeared back into the darkness. Piedmon resumed observing the digidestined through his scope, "Three down, one to go. Oh, it's been such a long build up to this climax. Let's not waste any more time!"

* * *

It didn't take long for Garudamon to catch up to WarGreymon and Tamer. They pulled along side the two and Sora called out to them, "Hey! WarGreymon! Tamer!"

"Hey Sora. Here to help us scout?" Tamer scanned the horizon, "Nothing to the east. Let's start checking the south now."

"No, we're here to make sure you two don't run off again!" Sora told him. WarGreymon joked, "Like I'd let him!"

Tamer glanced at her quietly and patted his partner, "Hey, let's land for a minute."

"There's no where safe to land. It's just open field in all directions. We'll be spotted right away if Piedmon or anyone else shows up," WarGreymon pointed out. Tamer patted his armor so loudly it made a clang, "It'll be fine buddy. What's the matter? Cockatrimon? Besides, if they can see us then we can see them. Let's land!"

"Fine," WarGreymon banked hard and came to the ground softly. Sora and Garudamon joined them on the ground, "Why are we landing?"

"You looked like you wanted to talk so I thought I'd get the distractions out of the way," Tamer replied with a goofy smile. WarGreymon rolled his eyes, "Yeah, so we landed in a desert in the middle of Piedmon's turf."

Tamer ignored him, "Let me guess - you think I had something to do with Wizardmon. Maybe Leomon?"

"No. I don't think you did anything," Sora answered him despite the suspect look he gave her. Tamer's raised eyebrow lowered, "Good, because I didn't know that would happen. At least, I knew Wizardmon was supposed to die. Supposed is the operative word by the way. He didn't because I saved him - twice. Both times, he told me it would've been better to let him die. But that doesn't mean I let him or that I wanted him to."

"Wait, what? Tai, er, Tamer, we only came to make sure you didn't try to leave again. What are you talking about?" Sora asked him with her hands on her hips. WarGreymon answered, "Oh, he's just moping. It's only a problem when he starts being a pain, kinda like right now. My guess is he's upset because he never got to deal with whatever had him upset when we left the first time."

"One of the Ethereals showed up. It showed them the past. Not everything, just a few bad memories," Tamer remarked somberly, "A few minutes of the Battle for Aca'dehmia and the fall of Bastion."

"Well…now I'm depressed," WarGreymon's shoulders sank. Sora looked at their morose expressions and remembered the few moments they'd seen of the past. Ancient and digimon alike who died in numerous ways, over and over again in an endless cycle of death and rebirth. All while worlds above were blown apart and the city below burned to nothing. The thought made her shiver and she stated, "I'm not saying you shouldn't deal with it. I'm just saying you shouldn't leave again without saying anything."

"No, we agree. Right Tamer?" WarGreymon's tone was less than forgiving. The boy nodded quietly looked over at WarGreymon sheepishly. Seeing how uneasy he was, she said, "I know you said you can't talk about it with us, but there's always WarGreymon."

He patted his partner's armor quietly and walked towards her. When he was just feet away he looked her in the eye and asked, "Can I...um...share something with you."

"What?" she asked nervously, watching him put his hand on her forehead, "Just a memory."

"Tamer, what are you doing?" Garudamon warned more than asked. Sora saw him swallow a lump in his throat and prepared for the worst. Without a word he, he closed his eyes and the world around Sora changed. The gray, barren fields became a hellish landscape of black and orange. She could hear gunfire, explosions and screams all around her. In the distance was Myotismon's castle which she felt an overwhelming need to call the Hallowed Bastion. Suddenly, two figures ran by - The Tamer and Agumon, both running towards a middle figure in the distance.

Devimon. They both fought as hard as they could and were able to take it down with the help of fellow Ancients who joined the fray. Then something else happened. Something that made Sora sick as she looked upon it. The images disappeared as Sora sank to her knees from nausea. Tamer and WarGreymon were there, backing away from Garudamon, "What did you do to her!?"

Tamer didn't reply which upset her partner more until she blurted out, "It's okay. I'm fine!"

She didn't sound it though and forced herself up while those images still haunted her mind. She looked at Tamer, realizing that those moments were moments from his past. And it made her cry, "I'm sorry."

"No. I am. But...that's why I don't like talking about it," Tamer said. Without warning, he hugged her but she wasn't sure if it was for her or himself. In either case, she had to hug him back as they shared that horrible memory between them. When they finally stepped away from each other, he climbed back on to WarGreymon, "We should finish scouting and make sure we don't get attacked by surprise."

"Yeah," Sora nodded. They continued scouting in silence. Occasionally, Tamer would say something like the area was safe and WarGreymon would change direction. After a while, Tamer asked, "Hey Sora. "

"Yeah?" Sora looked over at him. He didn't look at her but did say, "I know I said I wanted you to keep your options open and leave if things got hairy. For what it's worth, I'm glad you decided not to use it."

She offered him a smile but he didn't seem to notice. Sora heard distant noises coming from a far away storm cloud. As she narrowed her eyes, she could vaguely see thousands of tiny digimon flying together, their wings beating in a thunderous rhythm. Garudamon asked, "What's that?"

"Vilemon," WarGreymon answered, "They're weaker than a Gazimon by themselves. But get that many together like that and they're a menace."

"How many are there?" Sora asked aloud. Tamer narrowed his eyes, "I can't tell. They won't stop moving. I think I counted a few of them more than once. A cloud that big though has to at least be ten thousand."

"Why are you counting them and why are we acting like nothing's wrong? Let's get out of here!" WarGreymon turned towards the camp. Tamer shouted, "We can't lead them back to the camp. It'll be a massacre!"

"You want us to fight them?" Sora asked in disbelief. Tamer pointed out in the distance, "No. We lure them away - get them as far as possible then try to lose them. WarGreymon! You'll need to get their attention!"

"Got it," WarGreymon said, hoisting Tamer off his back and handing him to Garudamon. Once he was clear, WarGreymon ascended high into the air and began spinning in place, "GREAT TORNADO!"

He spiraled straight into the heart of the cloud of Vilemon and they broke their formation to avoid catching fire. The few caught straight in his path were swept away with his vortex and turned to data. Once the flames ignited, any Vilemon too close to heat was burnt to a crisp. Tamer whistled as the cloud of Vilemon split in two to pursue Garudamon and WarGreymon. The two regrouped and began flying as fast as they could away from the camp and out into the wasteland. Behind, the cloud of Vilemon gave chase and remained close behind for the entire pursuit. They led the Vilemon on over wasteland for as far as they could, occasionally stopping so their digimon could take shots at them to keep the Vilemon's attention.

After their pursuit led them some distance with no sign of the Vilemon slowing down, Sora shouted, "This isn't working. We can't keep running forever."

"I hate it but you're right. Head back to the camp and get the others. Tamer and I will buy as much time as we can," WarGreymon said. Tamer took hold of Sora's digivice and flashed a blinding light with a press of a button. The Vilemon at the front of the cloud stopped in their tracks, forcing the ones behind them to collide and bringing the entire swarm to a halt. Tamer returned her digivice and leapt off Garudamon while she was still in the air to land onto WarGreymon. Sora rolled her eyes at his insane display and held tight to her partner once the bird started fleeing. As she left, she heard WarGreymon scream, "TERRA FORCE!"

* * *

It didn't take them long to set up a camp to rest - tents were pitched and a fire was going for the Gekomon and Otamamon to begin preparing meals. The Numemon busied themselves with whatever menial labor they could, mostly to avoid talking to the other digimon. There wasn't any infighting after the losses they'd had that day, so the Agumon were able to get a share of the food without any incident. Gatomon opted to eat away from the rest of the group although this didn't stop Kari from joining her. Neither of them said a word as they ate their helping of nuts and berries in total silence. Thanks to Ogremon's help, the camp was set up more quickly than normal although TK had to keep vouching for the digimon every time he got a weird look.

Their meal was interrupted only when Andromon loudly announced, "Two life signs detected, approaching quickly from the south west!"

"Is it Tai?" Kari jumped up and scanned the darkness for some sign of her brother or WarGreymon. Andromon replied, "Negative. Subjects identified as Sora and Garudamon."

No sooner did he say this, Sora and Garudamon skidded to a halt at the edge of the camp while Sora shouted, "Guys! There's trouble!"

"What's going on?" Matt said while Ogremon appeared along side them. Garudamon pointed over her shoulder, "Vilemon. Enough that they looked like a cloud. A big black cloud of...blackness. They came after us. WarGreymon and Tamer stayed behind to hold them off. But there was a lot. WarGreymon used Great Tornado and barely got any of them!"

"Sounds like a job for me then," MetalGarurumon stepped up. Garudamon warned, "We'll need everyone who can fight to stop them."

"Hmph. Sounds like he's where all the action is! Let's get going!" Ogremon raised his club and draped it over his shoulders. Sora raised an eyebrow at the sight of the ogre, "What's with him?"

"It's a long story," TK said, "Let's go help Kari's brother!"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about them if I were you," a shrill voice said from behind Sora. Andromon called out, "Alarm! Hostile detected! Lady Devimon!"

"Yeah, we noticed," an Agumon replied snidely at the late warning. Kari looked up at the twisted demonic woman hovering above their camp and asked, "Gatomon, who's that? She looks scary."

"LadyDevimon. She's the twisted digivolution of Angewomon. If Myotismon actually wanted to...he could have made me into that," Gatomon felt a chill run down her body upon saying those words. LadyDevimon smiled down upon the cat and replied, "Yes. If only you'd remained loyal to him. Not that it matters with The Digimon Tamer and Piedmon constantly going on about destiny and whatever. I'm tired of talk though. Let's get started! Darkness Wave!"

She threw her arms forward and summoned a throng of bats that came forward to attack. Andromon and ShogunGekomon moved in front to counter, "Gatling Attack!"

"Musical Fist!"

The deafening blast from ShogunGekomon's horn disrupted the bats long enough for Andromon to arm his guns and shoot them all out of the sky. ShogunGekomon looked over his shoulder and commanded, "Go! We'll hold her here! Help WarGreymon and the Digimon Tamer!"

LadyDevimon laughed out loud upon hearing this, "Do you think I'll let any of you leave. Oh no. Piedmon wants me to keep you here."

"We have numbers you don't," Centarumon said while aiming his cannon on her, making her laugh again, "Quality over quantity. You had trouble fighting Myotismon! What hope you do have against me?"

"Why are you doing this?" Kari asked the devil digimon. With the smile widening on her pale skin, she answered, "Why else? So that Lord Piedmon can kill The Digimon Tamer and WarGreymon."

"Better digimon than you have tried," ShogunGekomon shouted at the devil, "Musical Fist!"

LadyDevimon moved aside and raced towards the cat digimon. With a wicked smile, she raised her left arm above her head and turned her nails into long red talons which she aimed at Gatomon. Gatomon readied to fight and Kari's digivice came aglow, "I'm tired of bats and I'm really not in the mood for this you Myotismon knock-off! Gatomon! Digivolve to! Angewomon!"

The flash of light staggered LadyDevimon long enough for Angewomon to slam into her at full force and smack her across the face, "I'll handle her! You guys go help WarGreymon!"

"And Tai," Kari added. Angewomon paused for the longest time before agreeing, "Yeah. And The Tamer, I guess."

"You bitch!" LadyDevimon corrected herself in the air and grabbed a hold of Angewomon's hair. She spun the angel in the air, twirling around until throwing her into Garudamon. She caught the angel but struggled to hold her from going back into fight, "Let me at her!"

"Oh you want to go you dumb cat? I'll give you a cat fight you won't ever forget! You'll learn to dread my hand the way you dread Myotismon!" LadyDevimon hissed. At that provocation, Angewomon broke out of Garudamon's hands and started pulling at LadyDevimon's hair. Watching from below, Izzy said, "I feel like I'm watching something that would make my mom mad at me."

"My older brother had a magazine with something like this once. Mom grounded him for a year," Joe commented while his eyes were fixed on the two. Matt sighed, "I know I shouldn't watch but I can't look away."

TK looked at the older boys in confusion, "Why are you guys just standing there? We have to help her."

"I'll go!" Patamon cried out as he digivolved, "Patamon! Digivolve to! Angemon!"

The angel digimon hurried into the fray and raised his fist against LadyDevimon, "Hand of fate!"

The beam of light struck her from behind and she groaned in agony, until she bit her lip and smiled, "Thank you sir, that felt so good. May have I another? I've been a bad girl!"

"What?" asked the collective voices of Angemon, TK, Matt, Izzy, Joe, Gomamon, Ogremon, ShogunGekomon, and MegaKabuterimon. Mimi scoffed and rolled her eyes, "You boys are so dumb. Let's show this _bad girl_ what we're made of! Go for it Palmon!"

"You got it Mimi!" Palmon ran ahead with the light of Mimi's digivice and crest behind her, "Palmon! Digivolve to! Togemon!"

"Togemon! Digivolve to! Lillymon!"

The pixie joined Angemon and Angewomon to fight LadyDevimon together. Despite the numbers advantage, LadyDevimon was proving to be as dangerous an enemy on her own as she picked her attacks carefully and always knew what to say to throw them off. When Angewomon used her celestial arrow, LadyDevimon mocked her, "You just can't hit anything, can you? It's because I remind you so much of Myotismon, doesn't it? Pathethic. It's no wonder your friend died."

"Don't you dare say that about her! Hand of Fate!" Angemon's attack struck LadyDevimon, making her scream in agony but she recovered quickly with a smile, "Oh look, Angemon tried the same attack twice. I'm not complaining, though. It sends ecstasy through my body. Honestly, is it any wonder that you had to resort to you suicidal attack to beat Devimon? Hey, why not do it again and try to kill me that way? It worked before so it'll definitely work again, right?"

"Why, when he has friends like us to help him! Flower Cannon!" Lillymon's blast was swatted away with little effort. LadyDevimon jeered her, "And of course, you - the failure of a digimon who couldn't save her partner's mother. How do you deal with being such a spectacular failure?"

Lilymon retorted, "I'm not a failure! I did my best to save as many people as I could. I can't change who I couldn't save, but I can stop you from taking anyone else! I'll only be a failure when I give up!"

"Our sacrifices aren't for nothing, as long as we continue the fight to save the Digital World," Angemon answered as LadyDevimon whipped past him to deal a blow onto Angewomon. She blocked the demon's fist with her arm and smiled, "I've done plenty of terrible things. But I'm trying to make up for it. That's what counts! Otherwise, it would make everything Wizardmon ever did for me meaningless!"

"Yeah, that's right Angewomon!" Kari loudly cheered her partner, "Now kick her butt and send her packing!"

"On it! Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon aimed her bow and fired an arrow of light which LadyDevimon skillfully dodged with a laugh. Breaking out of her stupor, Sora said to the others, "Guys! This is our chance! Let's sneak past her while she's preoccu-"

Before she could finish, Garudamon screeched and was thrown to the ground beside her. LadyDevimon cackled, "Sorry, but no one is going anywhere until-"

"I've arrived," Piedmon appeared beside her and took a grand bow, "Greetings and salutations my dear digidestined and digimon. It seems you've gathered quite the audience for your own execution today. Well, being the showman I am, I'd hate to leave you all waiting in suspense to watch your deaths."

"Lord Piedmon," LadyDevimon did something similar to a curtsy in the air. The digidestined and the digimon gasped at the arrival of the clown prince of darkness. LadyDevimon asked, "Is it done?"

"The defeat of The Digimon Tamer and WarGreymon? Oh handidly so!" Piedmon said with a big smile, that had Kari gasping, "But it was so easy that it was hardly sporting. So I thought we'd try again before we finished them off."

He snapped his fingers and a swarm of Vilemon large enough to resemble a dark cloud appeared beside them. In the middle of the swarm were the unconscious Digimon Tamer and WarGreymon held captive while Piedmon continued, "They put up a fight. Not a good one. They never were the best fighters and it's simply far too easy to get inside their heads. Let's change it up again and give them a handicap, LadyDevimon. Vilemon, do return them to their friends if you'd be so kind."

The Vilemon giggled away as they rested the two down to the ground. They retreated away, allowing Kari to run to her brother and the Agumon to run to WarGreymon. Piedmon laughed, "Here are the new rules of engagement! You'll be granted twenty minutes to wake them up and make any preparations you'll need to. After that, it's open season upon you digidestined in the ultimate battle for destiny with heroes, villains, and explosions as far as can be seen in the domain of near darkness! Only one side can survive and we know who it will be!"

"Yeah we do," Sora said bravely, only to make the clown laugh harder. Piedmon cackled away, hovering in the air with LadyDevimon and his cloud of Vilemon behind him. They retreated to a safe position within their camp. ShogunGekomon with his loyal Gekomon and Otamamon formed the very front of their line of digimon. Behind them were Centarumon, Andromon, Meramon, and the other rescued digimon, ready to reinforce their defense as they needed to. Unsure of what to do, TK and Izzy did their best to come up with ideas while Sora and Kari tried to awaken the beaten Tamer and WarGreymon. They tried everything from shouting, to shaking, and even slapping them to see them still asleep. Mimi suggested, "It's no good. I think we'll have to do this on our own. Did you come up with any ideas Izzy?"

"No, nothing," Izzy admitted quietly while he continued scanning the database on his laptop, "Nothing in here on how to beat Piedmon. We already know he's 'theatrical' like it says here, but there's nothing on how to beat him. Just run in really big letters."

"Don't forget all those Vilemon over there," Tentomon added anxiously. Izzy went on, "There's another problem we haven't thought about yet. Once we defeat Piedmon, the final zone will disappear and there's no way we can save everyone."

A silence fell over the digidestined as the familiarity to Koromon Village sank in. Only now, Tamer and WarGreymon weren't there to help. They were on their own with nowhere to run and no options but to fight. Sora looked down at her digivice, contemplating whether or not to use the gate. She swore she wouldn't but there was no way out of this situation for them. TK looked at her and asked, "Sora, what's wrong?"

"Just something Tamer gave me," Sora began, swallowing a lump in her throat, "I didn't bring it up before and I never wanted to use it. He put something in my digivice that would let us go back to the Real World, just us and our partners. There would be no way back and nothing would be able to pass between the worlds after I used it. It would be a one way ticket home."

"We're not leaving them," Mimi stated. Joe wholeheartedly disagreed with the girl, "I hate to say it but we should leave it open as an option."

"How can you say that Joe?" Gomamon asked, disappointedly. Joe threw up his hands defensively, "I'm just thinking, like I always do. If things get dicey, we should keep that option open."

"Except it won't," TK said, "Remember what Leomon said? We're digidestined! We're supposed to beat the bad guys."

"That's correct. We can't give up hope after coming so far," Angemon added. Joe's shoulder slumped down and he admitted, "And Tamer's been reminding us that destiny isn't on track any more. Let's be honest. We might not make it out of this. We should still give it our best shot but also be ready to leave if things get dicey."

"I still don't know know how we can fight and win though," Sora said quietly, giving the others pause as they tried to think of a plan. She noticed Kari still trying to budge her brother awake, gently shaking his chest. With each motion, Sora noticed a lumped that looked like it was moving underneath his robes with each gentle press. She asked Kari aside and reached into his robes, "Hey, what's that?"

From within, she retrieved three white robes similar to the ones he wore, all neatly folded and pressed. Mimi commented, "Where was he keeping extras?"

"He got them from the temple," Joe recalled quietly, "When we went after them in File Island. We never asked what they were for, though."

"But it gives me an idea," Izzy said excitedly, throwing worried looks onto TK, Kari, and Matt. The older brother warned Izzy, "This better not be another idea that sends them out into trouble."

"Not them, Matt. You!" Izzy pointed at the taller boy. They listened carefully as the boy explained, "You, Sora, and Mimi! You three are all about Tamer's height so these robes should just about fit you guys! Well...more or less. And we have the Agumon from Koromon Village! We just dress you guys up and have you run around. It'll confuse the Vilemon if there are more than one running around, plus it'll buy us more time to actually wake _him_ up."

"Good plan, Izzy. There's just one problem: Tamer and WarGreymon are right there! It'll be hard to pretend to be them when they're in plain sight!" Matt pointed out matter of factly. Izzy looked at them carefully and said, "MegaKabuterimon can use his size to hide them. Besides, this looks like the kind of thing Tamer would do - isn't it? Like I said, it seems like he gives these things more thought than he lets on. Why else would he have three robes on him?"

"I still want to know where he was keeping them," Mimi said quietly.

"Ten minutes digidestined!" Piedmon sang aloud, bringing a chorus of laughter from his ever anxious Vilemon. Sora looked around, "Does any one else have any better ideas?"

"Okay, let's assume we do this. What happens next? We can't keep relying on them to solve our problems. We need to have a fall back in case they don't wake up," Joe stated, "And I still think using that button on the digivice is the best fall back plan we have."

"MetalGarurumon. How many of those guys do you think you can take out on your own?" Matt asked, "We could just empty all your missiles into those guys and take out as many Vilemon as possible."

"I can try to focus on them once they're farther away but if they get too mixed with the digimon on our side, I might end up hitting them," MetalGarurumon answered nervously. Angewomon replied, "It'll have to do. That'll give us the time to concentrate on Piedmon and LadyDevimon! I still have a Celestial Arrow with her name on it."

"So we're okay with this plan?" Izzy asked them all, "If we are, I'll go get three Agumon to come help us out! MegaKabuterimon?"

"Got it!" the large bug hunched over them and Mimi felt a shiver down her spine at the up close sight of a giant insect, "Gross, gross, gross."

"I'm not that disgusting am I?" MegaKabuterimon asked.

"Forget about it," Izzy said while putting a robe in Mimi's hands, "Put these on quick. I'll be right back!"

He dashed out from under MegaKabuterimon while Mimi looked at the robes in her hand. Sora and Matt were halfway through putting theirs on when they noticed her hesitation, "What's up Mimi?"

"Nothing. Just thinking about how Tamer was unconscious the last time I handled one of these," Mimi said jokingly as she threw it around herself, "Like I said before - these are really comfortable."

"Yeah," Matt raised his hood to cover his face, making everyone pause nervously, "What?"

"It's scary how you could pass for him right now," Sora commented while adjusting the robes to fit her. It took a few tries and Mimi had to help her fashion the buttons before it would fit properly, "I know these plans never seem like they'll work, but they always do. Might as well have a little faith in this one."

Izzy returned with three excited Agumon who had the plan explained to them, "We're here! We'll help out any way we can!"

"We'll stick with you guys no matter what!" another said. Izzy clapped his hands together, "Okay! Let's get ready to roll out."

"What should we do?" Lillymon asked quietly. Sora answered as she paired with an Agumon, "Help fight the Dark Master and Vilemon. Garudamon, do your best!"

"Kick some butt!" Matt added. As they readied, they heard Piedmon declare, "Time's up! Let the main event commence! Attack my minions! Kill the digidestined and their digimon!"

"Okay! Let's get out there!" TK said encouragingly, running towards the fight only for Matt to grab him by the collar, "No you don't."

"Aw. Come on-" TK began to whine until Matt chastised him, "Sorry buddy but this plan won't work if they notice some of us aren't out there. It'll be better if only we go."

"Matt makes a good point. I say you guys exit one at a time," Izzy said, "Matt, you go first."

"Okay. Let's go Agumon!" Matt adjusted his hood and hurried out.

* * *

Piedmon watched with silent amusement as the Vilemon swarmed around ShogunGekomon and his army. They fought well but Piedmon knew they couldn't fight forever. The Vilemon simply outnumbered them. The Agumon behind the first line began attacking, led by Andromon and Centarumon into blanketing the skies with fire. Piedmon intentionally held back LadyDevimon so that the Vilemon could swarm the hopeless digimon army first.

As ShogunGekomon's line began to falter, Piedmon noticed the two he was after, The Digimon Tamer and Agumon, running for their lives away from the fighting. MetalGarurumon and Angemon joined him as they moved away until Tamer signaled them. On cue, MetalGarurumon stopped to arm his weapons and fired into the formation of Vilemon, "Ice Wolf Claw!"

The combined mass of rockets struck the Vilemon in the air and ripped apart the initial line. Seeing the newly presented threat, the Vilemon began to swarm the Tamer and Agumon. To his surprise, the two did not attempt to digivolve or fight - much to Piedmon's confusion. If he knew those two the way he did, then he would have to act quickly. He grinned with anticipation and drew his sword, "The stars have entered the stage. Let's begin our grand finale! Hahahaha! LadyDevimon, please wait here and supervise the Vilemon. Make sure to clean up after them if they make a mess!"

He drew a sword from his back and charged towards Tamer. As quickly as he closed the gap, Angemon raised his fist and shot a beam of light at the clown, "Hand of Fate."

The angel missed and Piedmon took a swing at Tamer - mostly to separate him from Agumon. Again, he was surprised that the little dinosaur didn't digivolve but kept his guard up as he swung away. Agumon used his Pepper Breath to strike the ground, kicking up a dust cloud which put Piedmon on his guard, "What's this? Another trick?"

When the dust finally settled, Tamer and Agumon were gone - leaving him surrounded by Angemon and MetalGarurumon, "Oh, I see. Luring me into a fight with another Mega level digimon and a Holy type. Oh whatever shall I do?"

"You could always give up," Angemon surrendered, "The forces of darkness will never prevail against the powers of light."

"Oh my. Impassioned speeches about good and evil are so overplayed. But please, do go on about your cliche while I dispose of your pet dog," Piedmon declared, grabbing MetalGarurumon by his leg and effortlessly throwing him aside. Angemon used his staff to strike the clown and was blocked by another of his swords, "Oh. That just won't do here. Your leg work is just awful and your posture is...well, let's say it leaves something to be desired. Allow me to educate you in proper form."

With a few quick strokes, Piedmon overwhelmed the angel and left him open for a kick that knocked him aside. Piedmon mused happily and carried on, "Now where are they?"

Across the battlefield, he sighted Tamer and Agumon again. This time, they were alongside Garudamon and Zudomon to help fight off the swarm of Vilemon. Despite how far away they were, Piedmon could only conclude that they had used the power of the Ancients to transport across the Digital World to move there. He kept his sword drawn and mused, "Running won't save you this time!"

He chased after them, cutting down any digimon unfortunate enough to be in his way regardless of whether they were on his side or not. Tamer saw him coming and squeaked in surprise, still running as fast as he could while Zudomon and Garudamon turned to attack, "Vulcan's Hammer!"

"Wing Blade!"

Using half of his skill, Piedmon danced around the two blasts and used his blades to parry the Ultimate level digimon away. Piedmon smirked as Tamer tripped over the dirt and Agumon made an attempt to stand between them. Again, Agumon made no attempt to digivolve and instead spat a ball of fire towards him. He caught it in his hands and sneered, "Fire breathing is such an old trick, and you've brought nothing new to its application in the performing arts. I do hope that you have something better planned for the finale besides spitting fire at me."

Tamer was silent, but the motion of his mouth indicated a dumbfounded stupor. It wasn't surprising, really. Neither of these two had ever really been able to defeat him in a straight battle. Piedmon mused upon his quick victory and prepared to deliver a killing blow when he heard LadyDevimon call out to him, "Lord Piedmon!"

"My dear LadyDevimon, I hope you have a good reason for interrupting our bout," Piedmon said to her, glancing over his shoulder expectantly and finding her caught in battle with Angewomon. He sighed, "Hmm, it seems you've got your hands full. You weren't expecting a helping hand were you? Because I expect all of you to be able to do what I ask when I ask."

"I can handle this blonde-dyed bitch just fine my lord," LadyDevimon grunted as the two of them grappled in the air, "It's Tamer and Agumon. There's another one over there!"

LadyDevimon pointed out another Tamer and Agumon pair running across the battlefield with Lillymon. They were helping reinforce ShogunGekomon and his loyal army as the Vilemon scattered them around the camp. At the mere sight of him, individual Vilemon would hesitate long enough for Agumon and Lillymon to defeat them. Piedmon's eyes narrowed as he tried to understand how there were two Tamers and two Agumons at the same time. It didn't take long for him to reach a single conclusion - Tamer was violating his people's own laws and attempting to retcon something. The Digital World was already off course with destiny and there was plenty of destruction going around. This was not beyond them to do - to attempt to change fate to their advantage.

"Breaking the rules again? You did a number on Machinedramon with this trick. You'll need to come up with something new to get the drop on me," Piedmon mocked, "It's quite ironic when you think about it though. All you ever had to do to beat us was break the flow of destiny and violate your people's own laws. In short: to beat us, you had to become us. But you know what they say about staring into the abyss."

Piedmon paused and waited for a retort or quip, but was met with unwelcome silence. A silence that made him uncomfortable enough to question his initial conclusion. He hid it behind another jovial response, "What's the matter? Has the clown got your tongue?"

Tamer took a step backwards and Agumon fired another blast, "Pepper Breath!"

Piedmon took the hit and rushed forwards towards the hooded figure, now certain that it was not the Digimon Tamer before him. He took hold of the figure before it could flee and forced the hood down to reveal long red hair. Piedmon scowled at the revelation, "YOU! You're not The Digimon Tamer!"

"Fooled ya," she smirked. Piedmon recognized her as the partner of Garudamon but hardly cared for either her or her life. He tightened his hold on his sword and growled, "Did a side character just try to upstage a lead such as myself? Unacceptable! We must reduce you to something that reflects your role in this story."

"Do whatever you want. I won't let you hurt my friends, my family, or our worlds!" she spat at him. Puppetmon wanted to be furious as he wiped the spit of his cheek, but calmed himself enough to realize that she would serve a better purpose. Tamer and WarGreymon would do anything to keep destiny on track. And this would create the perfect bait. He adjusted his grip so that he was holding her neck instead of her body and smiled, "Oh, don't worry my dear. I have good plans for you."

* * *

Kari watched Sora get taken hostage by Piedmon. Garudamon and Zudomon did their best to help her but Piedmon was able to use his swords without holding them. With a flick of his wrists, the swords danced through the air and left the two Ultimates reeling away. The Agumon tried to help but was swarmed by Vilemon immediately. Kari gasped in horror as things went bad and Joe grunted, "Oh man. This doesn't look good."

"We have to get out there and help!" TK declared, "We can't just leave Sora."

"And do what? Get ourselves killed? Maybe she'll use her digivice and try to send us back into the Real World," Joe said more hopefully than he should have. Izzy cursed under his breath and reviewed the data on Piedmon again and again. The closest thing there was to a weakness was the fact that he was a dark type digimon, and thus weak to the holy digimon like Angewomon and Angemon. Despite that, he'd effortlessly dispatched Angemon which left Izzy theorizing that the gap in strength between them was too large - and he was a level above Myotismon so there was no way to tell how much Angewomon could do. He tried to think of something, looking back at everything they'd learned and couldn't think of any good way to beat Piedmon. Kari returned to trying to stir her brother and WarGreymon, but nothing could make either stir.

She nearly resigned to its futility and began to whimper when TK assured her, "Hey. Don't cry Kari. We can't give up yet."

"How can't we?" Kari asked, "Tai! Please! WAKE UP!"

With a sudden jolt, Tamer bolted upright with his digivice aimed outwards at Piedmon. A beam of light shot forth from it and hit him square in the eye - blinding him enough to stagger, "AH!"

He dropped Sora and she safely scrambled towards her partners who took the chance to free her Agumon partner. At the same moment, WarGreymon arose - forcing MegaKabuterimon to stand up so that the Mega level could have enough room to move. Both of them wobbled slightly, as if they were forcing themselves up through sheer force of will and both looked worse for wear. Kari saw her brother adjust his hood to hide face, lower the goggles over his eyes, and open the length of robe to give him more freedom of motion. Although his face was half hidden, she could plainly see a ferocity in his eyes. He looked at her once and cracked a half smile, as if to reassure her. Joe said, "You're awake! Quick! Piedmon has Sor-"

Before he could finish, both WarGreymon and Tamer dashed straight for the staggered Piedmon. Just as they were close enough to hit the clown, the swords acted in their master's defense by blocking WarGreymon's claws. On the other hand, Tamer took hold of one sword and used its own momentum to swing it back at the Dark Master. The clown opened his eyes in time to avoid the swing and laughed, "Oh. I'm sorry, did you think that actually blinded me?"

"No. I just wanted you to let her go," Tamer replied, putting distance between himself and the clown. WarGreymon did the same in the opposite direction so that they could have him cornered. While the clown corrected himself, the digidestined could see Sora adjusting her hood to hide her face again and aiming her digivice ahead of her. Piedmon and LadyDevimon may have known that she wasn't the Tamer, but the Vilemon didn't and avoided having to actively fight her and the Agumon accompanying the situation.

The digimon on their side were holding their ground for now but the mass of Vilemon was encircling them and soon they wouldn't have anywhere to run. This didn't stop ShogunGekomon and Centarumon from fighting hard as they could. When Sora entered the mix in her robes, the other digimon cheered and followed her attack - oblivious to the fact that Tamer was actually right behind them with WarGreymon.

When Piedmon saw them rallying, he cracked a smile, "Well. Isn't this an entirely expected and predictable plot twist. Fortunately, I have something that can spice it up and make it more interesting. DARK SPORE!"

He reached into his pocket and scattered a handful of black dust into the air. WarGreymon used his shield to block the attack but Kari had to watch as her brother screamed when the specks knocked him back. He was scrambling on the ground in pain, dropping the sword on the ground beside him and writhing, "AH!"

"Tamer!" WarGreymon hurried towards him and was kicked aside by Piedmon for his effort.

"Tai!" Kari called out in a panic, "Angewomon! He needs help!"

Her partner was still caught up in her fight with LadyDevimon and was helpless to do anything of help. TK and Joe called out to their partners, "Angemon!"

"Zudomon!"

"I see it, Hand of Fate!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!"

Piedmon sidestepped both attacks and mocked them for missing. With his back turned, WarGreymon raced in and tried to jab him in the back with his claws only to find himself more swords blocking his path. Piedmon laughed, flicking his wrists to make the swords each take a turn swinging at his shield. With all four swords concentrated on him, the Mega level dragon was forced into playing defense. Satisified that he was no longer a threat, Piedmon walked towards Tamer as he lay on the ground convulsing. Kari wanted to run to help him, but Joe held her back, "Kari! Don't! You'll be killed!"

Even though he held her back, Kari still reached out her hand, "TAI!"

"Tai?" Piedmon repeated with a cheery smile, "Oh, Digimon Tamer! Of all the names you've taken, this one has to be my favorite. Tai! Oh, Tai! No! Tai! Hahahaha!"

He blew a raspberry over Tamer and picked the boy off the ground, holding him close to his face, "Oh, if only they knew. If only the all knew the secrets you keep inside your little head. Oh, I know! Let's reveal one!"

He looked over at the digidestined and tilted his head in a smile, made all the more unsettling by the fighting and death all around him. He took one step towards them and asked, "Did you know? His people had a trick that allowed them long life without age! It's why he can be so impossibly old and still look as young as you digidestined. I can see from your faces that he didn't tell you. Now let's see what happens when we take that gift away!"

He tightened his hold on Tamer and the boy gave a short drawn croak as he gasped for breath. His body writhed in agony as he grew: his limbs increased in size, his skin aged and sagged, his hair grayed prior to falling out, and his eyes became sunken. In an instant, the boy had aged to an old man but that wasn't where Piedmon stopped.

"Older, and older we go. Where we stop? Nobody knows!" the clown sang along while the man before them began to shrink, shriveling until he was just a bony lump that resembled a corpse. Right away, he dropped the Tamer and laughed out loud, "Oh dear, the look on his face! And yours!"

"No! Tai! NO!" Kari shrieked in terror. Izzy swallowed a lump in his throats and commented, "What did he do? How did he do that?"

Piedmon covered his face and continued laughing, nudging Tamer's body with a kick so that he could face them, "Oh. Don't worry. He's not dead. Not yet anyway. First, he needs to be punished for his transgressions! Let's start by making him watch you die!"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Will the digidestined be okay? What will become of Tamer in his current state? Can the digidestined save the world without him? Find all this and more on the next chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure due out next week on Friday, January 20th 5 PM CST. If you loved it, let me know in the review section! I always make a point of replying to any speculation, guesses on what will happen next, and even welcome constructive criticism. Once again, guest reviews need to be signed to get a response. And hey, why not follow or favorite the story to stay up to date on new chapters! That's all I have for now, let's go on to previews for the next chapter:

"Come on! I'm right here! You got nothing on me! TAKE THIS! AND THIS! HAHAHAHA!"

"What the crap was THAT!?" Matt exclaimed in surprise when the winds finally died down.

"Matt! He got Matt!" TK whimpered.

He struggled to draw in breath before saying, "Hope."

He heard his partner cry out, "TK! Kari! I'LL PROTECT YOU!"


	51. When Only Hope Remains

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hello, good evening and potato to all my readers who left a review, followed, and favorited the story of The Tamer A Digimon Adventure. It's good to have you with us and I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I want to thank all you readers for coming this far, with a special shout out to Ace Spiritwell for producing the cover art for this story. We're almost to the end of this story arc and I don't have much else to say so let's jump straight into it!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 51: When Only Hope Remains**

Mimi heard Kari's scream and looked over her shoulder to see Joe holding her back despite her screams of terror. Angemon and MegaKabuterimon rushed Piedmon and were kicked aside with little effort. The clown laughed manically at their futile rescue but even more as the girl screamed out for her brother, while beginning his slow strut towards them. Once Mimi followed the girl's gaze, she could see why. On the ground dressed in Tamer's white robes was a corpse like body reaching out after Piedmon but unable to summon the strength to do more than move its arm.

She wasn't quite sure what had happened, but she knew she had to step in. The need amplified when she watched WarGreymon charged the clown only to be slammed straight into the ground. The clown laughed gleefully, "Now stay down and let Uncle Piedmon do what he needs to do!"

She called for her partner to help and Lillymon swooped away from the fighting to stop Piedmon's advance. A few Gekomon saw what was happening and went to help her, but Piedmon scoffed at their attempt, "Oh look. Some volunteers for my first trick. Behold as I make a digimon into a keychain!"

He giggled excitedly as he produced a white cloth and threw it over Lillymon when she was close enough. The Gekomon stopped in their tracks when the sheet fell flat to the ground with no sign of Lillymon underneath. Amused by their confusion, Piedmon said, "For my follow up! I shall make a digimon shish kebab!"

He flicked his wrist and one of his swords flew on its own to skewer all of them at once. It hovered in the air to display them until their bodies turned to data, all the while Piedmon laughed and retrieved his sheet from the ground. Where Lillymon should have been was a keychain figurine in her likeness that he dangled before the digidestined like a trophy, "That's one. Thirteen to go."

"Lillymon!" Mimi gasped in shock. Piedmon cast his eyes in her direction and smiled, "Oh look, another digidestined pretending to be The Digimon Tamer. Or wait, is it Tai? Oh, who cares! That'd spoil the fun. Now, let's dance!"

He flailed his hands so that his swords assembled in front of him and they aimed themselves at her. With a snap, all four swords shot forward to impale the girl and Mimi stumbled backwards onto the ground in fear, raising her arms up to protect herself for all the good it would do. Seeing her in danger, three Otamamon and the Agumon partnered with her jump in the way, "NO!"

Like the Gekomon who accompanied Lillymon, all four were skewered by the swords and Mimi gasped in shock, "NO!"

Their bodies crumpled as they used themselves to stop the swords. Piedmon laughed and strolled towards her, "Oh, you poor dear. It seems the ones you care for just keep on dying. It truly is unfortunate for you. Let's put an end to your misery."

He loomed over her for a moment and draped the while cloth over her. The last thing she saw was darkness.

* * *

Kari gasped when Piedmon lifted up the cloth to produce another keychain figurine in Mimi's likeness. He cracked a wicked smile, "Hmm! Such a pretty doll to add to my collection. Now, who's next?"

He looked towards the rest of their group, eyeing the digidestined while making various mocking faces to show that he would delight at turning any one of them into a key chain. After a moment of silent deliberation, Sora leapt on to him from behind and threw her robe over him to blind him. He stumbled for a moment while she shouted, "Guys! Run!"

"Fuck that noise!" Izzy growled uncharacteristically, foregoing his own intelligent nature to jump onto the blinded clown from the front, "MegaKabuterimon! Let's go help her!"

"We're coming Sora!" MegaKabuterimon roared, tackling the clown onto the ground and knocking both children off. When Sora rolled to a stop, she looked up to see Piedmon managed to throw MegaKabuterimon off him. Before he could remove the robe, Izzy leapt on him again and tried to hold the it there, "What have you done to Mimi!? To Lillymon!? Tamer! FIX THEM!"

"Whoa, Izzy's gone nuts," Joe thought aloud as the boy did everything he could to stay on Piedmon. The clown had the hardest time wrestling the boy off, and had a harder time once Sora piled on him. MegaKabuterimon tried to help but was quickly swarmed by the Vilemon, who dragged him to the ground together. Garudamon swooped in from the side and pulled them off one at a time, only to be overrun herself. In that moment where both digidestined were distracted by their partners, Piedmon took hold of both and threw them off. He ripped the white robe off his head and growled, "Okay. Now I'm annoyed. White cloth isn't for me! But it'll look great on you."

He produced his white cloth and threw it over both digidestined, laughing as they disappeared beneath the thick sheet. Both of their partners, Garudamon and MegaKabuterimon hurried to help but Piedmon simply whipped the cloth around to catch them mid flight. They vanished into nothing as quickly as they flew into the cloth, leaving behind only keychain figurines of themselves.

* * *

Matt and MetalGarurumon circled around the edge of the fighting, focusing on areas with plenty of Vilemon to avoid harming the digimon on their side. The Agumon who'd partnered with him cheered as each one was turned to data but it seemed like a drop in the bucket compared to the number of Vilemon still attacking. For each one that fell, two more would appear and take its place on the battlefield. This didn't stop them from doing everything they could to turn the tide, blanketing the edge of Piedmon's forces with round after round of rockets. As the fighting went on, the Vilemon swarmed around their group to keep them from retreating away. MetalGarurumon shifted focus instead on keeping the back clear so that their digimon would always have an escape route.

Their efforts came to a halt when Matt heard his brother scream in a panic. Matt glanced down and saw Piedmon advancing on Joe, while TK and Kari hid behind him. Seeing the danger they were in, he nudged his partner to turn and help them. The wolf charged ahead at full speed, blasting ice cold air straight at the clown, "Metal Wolf Claw!"

Piedmon leapt back to avoid being frozen and turned his attention towards them. He jeered, "Another pretender. Oh, when will you all learn? Your role isn't to be the Digimon Tamer! Your role is to fail!"

MetalGarurumon rammed the clown as hard as he could, using his sharp teeth to dig into the clowns flesh and dragging him along the ground. While the clown was preoccupied, Matt shouted at the others, "GUYS! RUN!"

"But what about Tai?" he heard Kari ask. Matt's answer came in the form of a gasp as he found himself and Agumon thrown through the air. Piedmon grabbed hold of MetalGarurumon and flipped him onto his back, throwing his two riders off in the process. Everyone scrambled to their feet but Piedmon kept the wolf pinned with his foot, despite all the struggling, "Is that it? I'm disappointed."

"GET OFF HIM!" WarGreymon shouted as he sucker-punched Piedmon so hard across the cheek that his cestus shattered to pieces. Piedmon only slid back a few feet and spat out a bloodied tooth, "Oh my. Such anger behind that punch. I apologize if I've done anything to offend, for I am merely play-acting my-"

"SHUT! UP!" WarGreymon growled as he ascended high into the air. MetalGarurumon rejoined Matt and Agumon, standing between them and the Dark Master who'd lost all interest in them. Instead, he watched WaryGreymon ascend high into the air and snapped his fingers. A good number of Vilemon broke away from the main group to chase after him, eager to take a chance at him once they were close enough. Once he was high enough, WarGreymon started spinning and changed direction to fight them, "GREAT TORNADO!"

Once he burst into flames, the Vilemon tried to clear the range of his attack only to be caught in the heat and destroyed. WarGreymon's path turned to attack the clown, who greeted the oncoming blaze with smile. At the point of impact, Piedmon danced aside and swung one of his swords, managing to stab WarGreymon in the side, "AH!"

The fires died as WarGreymon crashed into the ground, sliding to a halt just feet away and the clown laughed at his decisive win. Before the dinosaur could get back up, the clown advanced with the white sheet in hand. Matt pointed this out for his partner, "MetalGarurumon! We have to stop him!"

"Leave him alone!" MetalGarurumon charged again, only to be brought down by a cloud of Vilemon that piled on top of him. Piedmon cackled, "It's a shame you can't help your friends, but it seems my friends outnumber yours. Here, how about a nice warm blanket to make you feel better?"

"No!" MetalGarurumon shouted too late as the sheet fell over him. Matt was already ripping off his white robe a running at the Dark Master, "MetalGarurumon! GET AWAY FROM MY FRIEND!"

He tried to tackle Piedmon, but the clown side stepped at the last second and tripped the boy who fell face first into the dirt. He turned around and saw the clown taking a bow as he lifted up the sheet to reveal nothing, "I'd love to but he's already exited stage left. And you're next!"

Matt was kicked away by the clown with ease and rolled along the ground beside him. The Agumon partnered with him ran between the two, "You'll have to go through me to get to-"

Before he finished, one of Piedmon's swords swung from the side and lopped his head clean off so that it rolled along the ground. The Agumon's body fell limp to the ground before dissipating into data. The clown smirked confidently and stopped just before Matt, "I've had quite enough of those Agumon. The Digimon Tamer's partner was bad enough - I don't need more of them running around. And you bunch running around in those robes did not help."

"Then how about the genuine article?" WarGreymon leapt towards the clown only to flicked straight into the ground with a finger, "If you're so eager to join your friend, then let me help you on your way!"

He threw the same white sheet over the dinosaur and Matt watched in petrified horror as he also became another keychain for Piedmon's amusement. Matt looked around for his brother and saw the boy beside both Joe and Kari. Exasperated, he shouted, "What are you guys doing? RUN!"

Piedmon threw the white sheet over him and the world became dark.

* * *

Joe swallowed a lump in his throat and pushed the two youngest digidestined onwards, "Let's go!"

"Matt! He got Matt!" TK whimpered. He spun around to help push them along and watched Angewomon crash into the ground in the direction he was planning to run. She sat herself back up only to get dragged further along by LadyDevimon. The female demon cackled, "What's the matter you bleach blonde shit? Cat got your tongue?"

"And I thought your punches were bad," Angewomon grunted from the ground. LadyDevimon scowled and raised her arm up, red nails and all, "You've got a mouth on you, don't you kitty cat?"

"Angewomon!" Kari shouted out to her partner, temporarily drawing the attention of the demon. She cracked a smile on seeing the girl, "Oh look. Your partner, the eighth digidestined. Which reminds me! That wizard friend of yours must be so lonely. Maybe I'll send her to join hi-"

Angewomon was on her feet and beating the demon as hard as she could before the demon knew what was going on, "YOU! DON'T! TALK! ABOUT! HIM! AND! DON'T! YOU! TOUCH! KARI! YOU! GOOD! FOR! NOTHING! BITCH!"

LadyDevimon appeared genuinely taken off guard for the brief moment she was on her feet. When Angewomon beat her onto the ground, the fear turned into a smile that only widened once Angewomon had an arrow trained on her. The demon proudly stated, "It feels good, doesn't it? To let the anger and the rage take over. This is what it's like to be on our side! Why not defy the role that destiny gave you and-"

"Oh for the love of," Angewomon stopped herself from saying any more as she fired it straight into the devil's heart. The demon let out a surprised gasp before dissipating into data. The angel's breaths were heavy and deep, and she took a moment to collect herself before sighing, "I swear. If I hear one more thing about destiny."

Kari was taken aback by her partner's brutality, a grim reminder of the fact that she'd just lost Wizardmon, her best friend. Once she corrected herself, she offered an apologetic frown to Kari - admitting that she knew what she did was wrong. Angemon appeared beside her, "Angewomon, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Let's focus on the Dark Master," she grunted. Joe motioned back towards Piedmon dancing towards them, spinning his sword in one hand and jangling the key chains of their friends in the other. In a sing song voice, he mocked them, "Four digidestined, five digimon down. Three digidestined, three digimon, and one Digimon Tamer left. Oh what fun we'll have when you're all gone!"

"I can't wait to wipe the smile off that face of yours," Angewomon took to the air and aimed her bow towards him, "Now enjoy this! Celestial Arrow!"

Piedmon sidestepped the attack and remarked, "The thing that always confused me about all these ranged attacks is that they're so easy to dodge! Why don't more digimon simply get out of the way? It doesn't seem to hard to do."

Angewomon clicked her tongue and fired another shot that Piedmon happily sidestepped. Piedmon cackled away manically and leapt into the air straight for her. She must've been forty feet in the air but the speed of his leap made it seem as if he was flying. Angemon zoomed in between them and used his staff to jab the clown in the chest, "Back off!"

The clown took the hit but only so that he could take hold of the angel's staff with both of his hands. Displaying an agility that no one had seen since he'd fought Tamer, Piedmon did a flip over the staff and used it to whirl the angel away while propelling himself towards Angewomon, "Wait your turn."

"Angewomon!" Angemon called out as he tried to correct his flight pattern.

"Zudomon, you have to help," Joe said aloud as the clown threw a white sheet over the angel. Zudomon said, "They're flying, Joe! What am I supposed to do?"

"Okay, good point," Joe sighed, watching Angemon stop himself in the air just a few feet away from them. He went to attack again but Joe called him out, "Angemon. Don't! We have to stick together!"

"But-" Angemon began only to get interrupted, "We have to stick together if we're going to make it out of this!"

When he saw Angemon surveying the scene, he knew the angel had different thoughts on the matter. It was hard to disagree, when Joe could see the digimon on their side faltering. Agumon, Gekomon, Otamamon, Gotsumon, Yokomon, and the other smaller digimon were doing their best but their strength was always in their numbers - something the Vilemon matched and undermined with their own superior numbers. This made the better fighters on their side the advantage they had: the groups of Frigimon, Andromon, Centarumon, ShogunGekomon, Meramon, Unimon, Monzaemon, and Ogremon. As strong as they were against individual Vilemon, their combined might pushed them further back.

Centarumon and Unimon used their speed to avoid their pursuers but the others were forced to hold their ground as long as they could. ShogunGekomon shouted words of encouragement to the other digimon and used his horns to blow away groups of Vilemon. The Frigimon and Monzaemon worked together to trap the Vilemon in ice and bubbles. Meramon, Andromon worked in tandem with the Agumon to pick off any Vilemon that came too close. The Gekomon and Otamamon demonstrated their ability to work together, sticking together in groups of three or more and always fighting Vilemon when the odds were in their favor. Only Ogremon seemed to relish in the fighting, swinging his club around wildly and shouting insults at any Vilemon who attacked him, "Come on! I'm right here! You got nothing on me! TAKE THIS! AND THIS! HAHAHAHA! You think you're so tough? I'll show you how a real mon fights!"

He was brave if nothing else, continuing to shout and fight as the Vilemon slowly overwhelmed him as they did all the other digimon. Angemon punched two blasts of light into the army before floating along side Zudomon, "What do we do?"

"I…I don't know. Sora was the only one who could use her digivice to take us home. And Tamer is…Tamer!" Joe looked over at the withered corpse in the middle of the fighting. It still looked to be reaching out to them in a feeble attempt to do something, anything to help. Joe pointed him out and began ushering the kids towards him, "Come on Kari, TK!"

"But Angewomon!" Kari gasped while watching Piedmon spin the angel keychain in his fingers. Joe hurried her along, "I know, but there's nothing we can do for her right now."

"Then what can we do?" Angemon asked. Joe pushed them again, "I don't know. But Zudomon and I will do whatever we can to slow him down. Angemon! You have to protect them no matter what!"

"No, I'll stay to help," Angemon declared until Joe admonished him, "Believe me - I'd love nothing more than to have your help, but you guys have to grab Tamer and get out of here!"

"But-" Angemon stuttered only for Joe to shout, "GO!"

"Here they come!" Zudomon called, thrusting his hammer hard to block all of Piedmon's swords with a single swing. The clown mused, "Such a nice hammer you have there. Sorry, did you think you were going to _nail_ me on the head? Oh, I'm sorry. That was just dreadful. Might I try again?"

"Uh…sure?" Zudomon asked more than said as Piedmon withdrew his swords and cleared his throat, "Oh thank you very much. Now let's see, hm…hammers, hammers, hammers. Hmm. That's disappointing. I have no material for this. I should apologize for my inability to think of a good quip. As a show of good faith, I will give you one free chance to hit me."

Zudomon blinked, "Wait, seriously?"

"You have to be joking," Joe said aloud, not realizing that Piedmon heard him. The clown laughed at them and covered his face while he did so, "Oh, I speak the truth. But remember! I'm only giving you one so I would suggest that you make it count."

Zudomon looked back at his partner, and Joe could only offer a confused shrug in return - neither was truly certain of what to make of Piedmon's offer. Still, they had a free swing so they might as well make it count. Zudomon raised the hammer over his head and slammed it down with all his might, "VULCAN'S HAMMER!"

It crashed like thunder upon Piedmon and shook the ground so hard that it knocked Joe and the remaining digidestined off their feet. Joe couldn't believe his eyes at the sight of the Dark Master gone beneath the hammer. Even Zudomon was taken off guard, "No way! I beat him! I beat Piedmon!"

The hammer shook slightly as it began pulling itself up against Zudomon's control, "Wait, what's happening?"

"I should give you credit. That did knock me flat on my back like a pancake," Piedmon mused as he pushed the hammer off and dusted himself clean, "But I believe you're celebrating too soon."

"Oh, come on," Joe moaned. Piedmon smiled, "Oh, don't feel too bad. Here, let me give you a break!"

"Joe, look out!" Zudomon swung his hammer again and missed the clown zipping towards his partner. With one hand firm around his collar, the clown readied to throw the white sheet over him again while Joe pleaded, "Hey, before you do this - you should know something."

"What's that?" Piedmon asked, indulging the boy while unaware that Zudomon was bringing his hammer down again. As soon as the hammer was above him, Piedmon snapped his fingers and his swords stopped in its tracks. Joe sweated nervously at the hammer just inches above Piedmon's head and mumbled, "Well…crap."

"I imagine you will," Piedmon said as he threw the sheet over his head. Joe closed his eyes and let the darkness take him, while hearing his partner cry out his name one last time.

* * *

TK and Kari sprinted as fast as they could away from Piedmon towards Tamer. TK only looked back once to see Zudomon get turned into a keychain by the Dark Master. While he looked back, Kari had over taken him and slid to a stop at her brother's side, sputtering at the sight of the half decrepit corpse he'd become, "Tai! Tai!"

His eyes were sunken into his skull but they still managed to turn enough to look at her with an audible squick that made TK nauseous. He looked away to the fighting and saw that they were losing horribly. There were only a handful of Agumon still fighting alongside ShogunGekomon, Ogremon, Andromon and Centarumon. Everything else in sight was just Vilemon - no Frigimon, Gekomon, Otamamon, Meramon, Unimon, or anyone else. This wasn't how it was supposed to be - they were the good guys. They were supposed to win.

But that wasn't how it was happening. It all brought back memories of the battle with Devimon again, and how woefully prepared they were for him. And now it is was just him, Kari, and Angemon again. Angemon rested in the air between them and Piedmon, punching blast after blast of light at the evil digimon only for him to side step the attacks with a mocking smile. TK could see it already, Piedmon would look over them and turn them to keychains with his white sheet. It was all over. This was it. He closed his eyes in terrified panic.

Then felt a wrinkled old hand take his. He turned his head and saw Tamer holding his hand with great effort, his sunken eyes still full of determination and resolve. He struggled to draw in breath before saying, "Hope."

"What?" TK whimpered, doing his best not to cry in panic. Tamer drew in another long breath and struggled to speak, "Crest...hope...don't...give...up..."

TK looked down at the crest and tag hanging around his neck and recalled that Myotismon had referred to it as the crest of hope. A crest that he'd yet to make glow. He clutched it his hand and wished now more than ever that it would finally glow - that Angemon would Digivolve to the next level, with the strength he needed to defeat Piedmon and bring the others back. He kept on wishing, even after the clown threw Angemon aside, "Move. I don't waste time on useless side characters. Come back when you're more important."

He continued to wish when Piedmon stood over him, looking down with his sword in hand, "Oh dear. Hoping your crest will glow? How ironic that hoping can't make the Crest of Hope glow."

Kari gasped as Piedmon raised the sword over his head and brought it crashing down, "Now die."

Even in the face of certain doom, he continued to wish and pray that his crest would finally glow. That Angemon would finally digivolve. He heard his partner cry out, "TK! Kari! I'LL PROTECT YOU!"

TK opened his eyes in time to see a bright glow of light that blinded Piedmon and the Vilemon. Kari, Tamer, Angemon, ShogunGekomon, Ogremon, Centarumon, Andromon, and the remaining Agumon all looked at TK as his crest illuminated the darkened zone. Across the field, Angemon came aglow with his crest and bathed in the soft golden light, "Angemon! Digivolve to! MagnaAngemon."

The golden light criss-crossed across his chest and trailed off to the side like small wings. Across his arms and face, the light extended out to become a blade on his right arm, an arm length pauldron of his left arm and a purple helm that extended far over his head. Two additional wings sprouted below the six he had, and four of them bent around his body protectively. Finally, the light extended up from his helm to create an elongated royal violet helm with the symbol of the Crest of Hope engraved upon it.

He used his sword to stab Piedmon only be blocked with one of his floating swords. Still half blind, Piedmon retreated to safety and tried to clear his vision. Blinking away the blindness and giving his eyes time to adjust, he asked, "What just happened?"

"I did," MagnaAngemon's voice resounded with an echo, as if he spoke with a hundred voices at once, "I am MagnaAngemon, stalwart defender of the light and all that is good. With my Beam Shield and blade Excalibur, I have come to deliver judgment on to you Piedmon for your sins against the Digital World."

"Oh, well, this was expected," Piedmon cracked a twisted and triumphant smile, "But I'm afraid there simply isn't a Digital World left to save. And the few digimon left to save won't be around much longer. Now, let's end our dance! TRUMP SWORD!"

Piedmon took all four swords in his hand and leapt straight for the angel digimon who calmly replied, "Excalibur."

TK and Kari watched in awe as the two dueled with such speed and skill that they seemed to be teleporting across the battlefield. For the first time since they'd met Piedmon, the Dark Master genuinely seemed concerned that he would be outmatched by his opponent. Empowered by this sight, ShogunGekomon rallied the digimon on their side and continued to press the attack. A few times, Piedmon tried to cheat and willed his swords to fly away and strike from behind, but MagnaAngemon was able to avoid or block them each time it happened. With each swing, Piedmon was put on the defensive until MagnaAngemon managed to score a lucky strike that cut off a few of the keychains on his belt. The clown tried to protect his prize, but MagnaAngemon was faster and he took the keychains of Garudamon, Sora, Matt, MetalGarurumon, and Angewomon. The clown scowled over his loss and growled, "Give it back!"

"They aren't yours to take," MagnaAngemon said back. Piedmon snapped his fingers to summon a swarm of Vilemon to his aid and the angel responded in kind by cutting each one down with a swing of his blade. The angel smiled confidently at his effortless win and returned to fighting Piedmon, keeping pressure on the clown to force him into a retreat.

"Yeah! You can do it MagnaAngemon!" TK cheered excitedly. Kari kept her hand firmly on her brother but still managed to cry out, "Beat him MagnaAngemon!"

MagnaAngemon kept up his offensive and Piedmon was forced to recall more Vilemon to aid him, and they would just as easily be cut to size. With another swift jab, MagnaAngemon freed the keychains of Mimi, Lillymon, Izzy, MegaKabuterimon, and Joe. The clown growled at the blatant theft, "Give those back! They're my prizes!"

"You followed the path of evil and have come to its end!" MagnaAngemon replied, swing his sword again to free Zudomon and WarGreymon. With all the keychains in hand, MagnaAngemon retreated from his opponent who was left reeling in anger. He stopped beside TK and Kari, setting the keychains on the ground and explaining, "We have to undo Piedmon's magic so that they can help us. Stand back. MagnaAntidote!"

A bright light radiated from his very being, blinding Piedmon and the Vilemon under his command once more. The light shone a rainbow of colors around the keychains that returned each to their normal size. In that brief moment, Kari glanced down at her brother and saw specks of darkness being driven from his withered body - dark spores being driven back by the light. With each speck, his skin smoothed and his hair darkened to brown. He shrunk back to size and reverted to his normal young state. Piedmon roared defiantly and went after him with his sword, "NO!"

Their group staggered for a moment, confused about what just happened and unsure if they were still keychains. Joe glanced around once and said, "Huh, I thought getting turned into a keychain would've been more…different from normal."

"It's an awful lot like being alive, you have to admit that," Mimi commented.

"Only it makes your head spin," Lillymon added, wobbling slightly.

"I have a major headache though," Izzy scratched his head.

"It's like that feeling you get when you wake up from a really weird dream," Zudomon agreed, "Where your head hurts but it shouldn't."

For TK, there was only one thing that mattered to him amidst the confused digidestined. And it was his older brother, "Matt! You're back!"

"TK! No, he didn't get you too, did he?" Matt asked worriedly, thinking that his brother had become a keychain. TK shook his head, "No! MagnaAngemon saved you!"

"MagnaAngemon?" Angewomon repeated quietly, looking ahead to see the Ultimate level digimon resuming his battle with the Dark Master Piedmon. The clown was furious now, concentrating his attacks on the angel alone who single handedly held his own against both the Dark Master and his army of loyal servants. Assessing the situation, the digidestined quickly realized that the fighting was not going their way as they could only see Ogremon, Andromon, a few Agumon, Centarumon, and ShogunGekomon. Seeing them still fighting, their digimon hurried out to join the fray - MetalGarurumon, Garudamon, Zudomon, Angewomon, Lillymon, and MegaKabuterimon. Seeing the digidestined return inspired the few remaining digimon to fight harder against the swarm of Vilemon encircling them. WarGreymon was the only digimon who didn't join the fray, instead focusing his attention on his partner beside him. Kari leapt on Tamer in delight once he was able to stand upright, "TAI!"

"You really didn't age well, y'know?" WarGreymon commented while the boy hugged the little girl jumped onto him. The boy took a moment to hold her in his arms before setting her down and replied, "What did you expect out of someone who's a hundred and five-thousand one hundred and twenty-eight years old?"

"What's the plan?" WarGreymon asked, looking ahead at MagnaAngemon's duel with Piedmon. Tamer cracked a smile and said, "Well, the last area of the Digital World will collapse if we beat Piedmon. And if we don't, it'll collapse anyway. We might as well take the option that beats him."

"Is there an option in there that doesn't destroy the Digital World and possibly us?" Joe asked cautiously. Tamer shrugged, "Only for those of us with partners who can fly...which is kinda a problem for you. But I'm okay with that risk."

"WHAT!?" Joe gasped.

"What about the others?" Mimi pointed out their remaining allies. Tamer glanced at them sideways with deep concentration. After a moment, he nodded towards Sora, "Garudamon and MegaKabuterimon should be able to split their weight between the two of them."

"It'll add unnecessary difficulty to our partners if they have to fight and carry the others at the same time," Izzy pointed out carefully. Tamer gave a thumbs up, "Don't worry about. Just stick close to them and get ready to grab them once we beat Piedmon. Come on WarGreymon!"

"Let's go!"

The two of them bolted straight for MagnaAngemon, ignoring shouts from Sora to stop running off, "Guys! Stop! Don't...I hate it when they do that."

"What are we waiting for? We all heard him! Let's stick close to the others," Matt said, leading them all to stand beside ShogunGekomon. Together, their digimon began to fight harder than they ever had in their attempt to hold back the Vilemon. If this was going to be their final stand, they would give it all they had.

Away from the rest of the group, Piedmon did everything he could to hold off the combined strength of MagnaAngemon, the Digimon Tamer, and WarGreymon. He resorted to commanding all four of his swords without physically holding them to keep up with all of their combined attacks and keep himself separated. Or rather, just MagnaAngemon and WarGreymon since Tamer resorted to ducking and weaving through the swords to try and confuse the swords as they zipped around. It was obvious to Piedmon that the WarGreymon digivolution was still a new development since the coordination of the pair's movements was sloppier than when WarGreymon was in Agumon form. He tried to take advantage of this whenever the two bumped into each other by accident.

Unfortunately, it back fired when a sword Piedmon commanded to strike the two of them buried itself into the ground and Tamer forcefully took it to use as his own. Then he joined the fray by swinging it at the clown. The clown tried to bend his control back over the sword but The Tamer simply incorporated its strokes into his own movements. The boy wasn't as fast as MagnaAngemon or as strong as WarGreymon, but he made up for it with unpredictably - enough to force the clown to keep moving. More than that, he had to continually call upon Vilemon to help him only to watch as they were always cut to size by the three.

He knew he couldn't keep up this tirade forever so he changed his tactics to instead focus on someone else - ShogunGekomon. At his first chance, he sped away towards the Ultimate level - half to strike him down and half to get away from his attackers. Kari had been watching them fight, awe struck to see how strong her brother had become in the four years since his disappearance. As a result, she saw clown coming and called out to Angewomon for help, "Angewomon! Look!"

"I got him!" Angewomon drew her bow and took aim ahead of the clown. When the arrow of light kicked up a dust cloud in front of him, it drew ShogunGekomon's attention and he blasted the clown with his horns, "Musical Fist."

The gust of wind knocked the clown off his feet and left him easy pickings for Tamer to fight. The clown rolled out of his attack in time and commanded one of his three remaining swords into his hand. The pair sparred with each other, switching styles as they moved around the battlefield. In this instance, Tamer was put on the defensive since he simply couldn't hope to fight on even footing with the clown. But he did distract the clown long enough for WarGreymon and MagnaAngemon to catch him unawares.

Piedmon narrowly avoided being impaled from three sides by commanding his remaining swords to block all of their attacks. There was only one opening remaining for him - up. The clown leapt into the air to find Angewomon waiting for him with an arrow in her bow. He smiled confidently, knowing that she would miss him based on the angle she was holding it. Then she fired and the clown didn't bother to avoid it until he felt a downward pull on his shirt drag him back down. The arrow had latched his shirt and pulled him back to the ground with a thump. The impact disoriented him and when he was finally aware enough to figure out what was going on, he noted that Tamer used his own sword to stab the clown's red suit into the ground. The boy and WarGreymon hurried to the Agumon and shouted, "Okay MagnaAngemon! Finish this!"

"Gate of Destiny!" MagnaAngemon moved his sword in a circular manner, drawing the outline of a golden gate in the air before him. With a wave of his hand the gate opened to a blinding light and a howling roar of wind. A gate reminiscent of the one in Myotismon's Castle. WarGreymon called out, "Everyone! Hang on!"

Before he finished, everyone felt themselves get pulled into the gate by an unseen force that nearly pulled them all off the ground. The heavier digimon grabbed onto ground to anchor themselves while their digidestined partners held on for dear life. WarGreymon positioned himself so that could brace to hold both Tamer and the few remaining Agumon. ShogunGekomon did the same for the lighter digimon and their partners - Lillymon, Angewomon, Mimi, and Kari.

* * *

The winds roared wildly as the Vilemon in the air were pulled in to the gate against their will, screaming as they disappeared into the blinding light. Piedmon watched the number of Vilemon thin and held on to the sword pinning him to the ground bemusedly. He knew how it was supposed to end and it didn't matter whether destiny was or wasn't fulfilled. The Dark Masters had won a long time ago and the thought of the digidestined realizing their efforts were for nothing was sweet to him.

With a thin smile, he pulled the sword out of the ground and let himself be taken. As he disappeared beyond it, all the digidestined could hear was his deep cackling as it echoed mockingly. It only died when MagnaAngemon waved his hand to seal the gate. Banishing anyone who'd been sucked in. The Vilemon who'd survived the ordeal scattered in different directions out of fear that the gate would return.

"What the crap was THAT!?" Matt exclaimed in surprise when the winds finally died down, holding TK tight under his arm. TK fidgeted to be let go and ran to throw himself on to his partner, "MagnaAngemon! That was so COOL! YOU BEAT PIEDMON AND ALL THOSE BAD GUYS!"

"So is anyone going to explain what just happened?" Sora asked quietly, staring directly at Tamer when she asked that question. He was busy dusting himself off and hadn't noticed that they were staring until he looked up, "What?"

"Just waiting on you, dude," Matt said. Tamer looked between each of them and asked again, "To do what?"

"What just happened with MagnaAngemon?" Sora asked, "What was that Gate of Destiny attack?"

"Why would I know?" Tamer asked. Izzy rolled his eyes, "Because you always go on about destiny, your people had access to a gate that can go to other worlds, and you've always had a plan for literally everything."

"Plus you're the one who told him to finish the fight," WarGreymon added, to his partner's annoyance, "So that automatically means-"

"YES!" Every digidestined except for Kari said at the same time, silencing Tamer. He nodded his head a few times, "Okay. Well, I don't honestly know what the attack was but I'd have to guess that the reason why the Crest of Hope was paired with Patamon and TK is because of that specific line of digivolution. I did know MagnaAngemon had access to that ability - to create a gate and open it at will. As for the gate, I have no idea if it's connected to the gate used by my people. MagnaAngemon's could be based on our gate or our gate could be based on that line of digivolution. They could even have originated simultaneously - two separate gates with the ability to connect worlds to each other that never would have been otherwise. It's something worth looking into but I think the fact that we have digimon whose lives need saving is a bit more important right now."

"That's right! We beat Piedmon!" Joe said in realization that the Dark Zone would promptly disappear. In the distance, they could already see the horizon vanishing into the black void that was the Digital World. Sora frowned but knew they didn't have time to dwell on it, "We're not done talking about this Tai."

"It's The Digimon Tamer," he replied though nobody listened. Sora shouted out to the others to save as many digimon as they could before the entire zone collapsed. The few surviving digimon on their side scrambled towards them - ShogunGekomon, Agumon, Andromon, Centarumon, and Ogremon. Zudomon regressed into Bukamon. The larger flying digimon grabbed everyone they could and took to the air. However, ShogunGekomon's weight required the combined strength of MagnaAngemon, Angewomon, and WarGreymon to carry. The last of them lifted off the ground just as it disappeared beneath them, leaving behind a black void that had once been the Digital World - no light, no sound, no life but them in any direction. Only darkness as far as the eye could see.

"The Digital World's gone Tamer," WarGreymon commented. The atmosphere among the remaining digimon on their side was dour - the remaining Agumon, ShogunGekomon, Andromon, Centarumon, and Ogremon were quick to panic, "The Digital World is gone! Now what do we do?"

"We were too late. We couldn't save the Digital World," one Agumon moaned quietly. Centarumon added, "As it was recorded in the ancient prophecies, this was not supposed to happen. Destiny has been derailed and our very existence is doomed!"

"Don't give up hope yet guys! The Digital World may be gone but we can still make sure this doesn't happen to any other world!" TK said commandingly despite ShogunGekomon's protests, "My kingdom is gone and my subjects are all dead. Everything I strived to protect is lost. You want me to keep fighting just to protect something else?"

"That's what we're doing, isn't it? My mom is dead, but that hasn't stopped me from fighting with Lillymon!" Mimi snapped back while her partner snapped her fingers in a zig zag, "B-F-Fs forever girl!"

"We might not have much choice on the matter. My sensors detect movement," Andromon warned them to Joe's surprise, "Really? How can there be anything in a place like this? There's nothing but emptiness."

"You'd be surprised what can thrive in a dark place like this," Tamer answered, "This is what the Dark Masters were trying to accomplish: create at empty space in reality that should never have happened. And it looks like we're about to meet whatever made them do it."

Once he finished, they heard a low guttural growl in the darkness followed by a hiss. Although it was dark, there was obviously something else here with them. Something that needed the Dark Masters to herald its arrival into reality. And there was no telling what it wanted.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** What awaits the digidestined in the darkness? Can they overcome the danger that needed to destroy an entire world just to exist? Can they bring back the Digital World? Find all this out and more in two week on Friday, February 3rd. If you liked it, let me know in the reviews section. I always love to hear your feedback, whether its thoughts, constructive criticisms or even guesses into the next chapter. I usually make a point of replying as soon as the website will allow me to. Remember, guest reviews need to be signed to get a response. And hey, why not follow or favorite the story to stay up the date on new chapters. That's all that I have for now. Let's show some previews for the next chapter!

"I thought you said the crests can't break!" Mimi scolded Tamer.

"Boy, you digidestined sure like to bicker," Goblimon observed quietly.

Matt remarked sarcastically, "A great big evil guy that the Dark Masters summoned and Izzy's probably the only one who understands a word he says."

Tamer chastised his partner, "Good job WarGreymon. Now he's mad!"

Its mouth moved but its voice resounded all around them, deep and guttural and slow, "Who. Are. You?"

And now for a quick guest review response:

 **Belennnn:** Muhuhahahahahahahaha!


	52. A Decision

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hey there folks! Welcome to the final installment of part I of the Tamer: A Digimon Adventure. I hope that all of you are excited because this has been a long time coming. We're a bit behind schedule but not by much. I want to thank all of you who left reviews, followed, and favorited the story. And a great big special thanks to Ace Spiritwell for creating the cover art for this story. You can help show thanks by checking out their fanfiction profile and their deviantart account. By the way, this is arguably the longest chapter I've written. Okay, let's not hold off any longer and get this chapter started!

* * *

 **The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure**

 **Chapter 52: A Decision**

It came from the darkness so quickly that they were overwhelmed by its presence - a figure whose body was large enough to be the size of the Digital World. It was a polyhedron with chain liked arms shaped in a double spiral reaching from every surface. And at the end of each arm was a large three pronged metal claw large enough to crush each of them between its pointed fingers. At the northernmost point of this planet sized body was a humanoid shaped figure melded from the waist down into the polyhedron. A veiny blue body with long slender arms that ended in razor sharp nails. Half of its face was concealed by a black mask with a beak shaped nose and long silver hair that billowed against a wind that wasn't there. Through the holes where the eyes should have been, they could vaguely make out two pointed white lights that chilled them to the core as it looked at them.

"What is THAT!?" MegaKabuterimon shouted.

Its mouth moved but its voice resounded all around them; deep, guttural and slow, "Who. Are. You?"

They all stared at it silence, made all the worse when Tamer started grabbing at his head and barely holding on to WarGreymon. Sora swallowed the forming lump in her throat and answered, "We're the Digidestined, the children chosen to help defend the Digital World with our Digimon Partners. Who are you?"

"We. See. No. Digital. World," it spoke back at them, "We. See. Nothing. To. Defend."

One of the claw like arms moved close, closing so that it resembled a head and only moving one its appendages like a mouth, "We. Are. Apocalymon. We. Are. Born. Of. Your. Dead. Your. Sorrow. Your. Hate. Your. Jealousy. Avarice. Indolence. Desire. Gratification. Fear!"

"Okay, that's helpful," Matt remarked sarcastically, "A great big evil guy that the Dark Masters summoned and Izzy's probably the only one who understands a word he says."

"If I understood correctly, he was born out of negative emotion which is what fuels him. Sort of like how our digivices, our crests, and our partner's digivolutions are powered by positive emotions," Izzy mulled it over quietly, with a hand to his chin. Tamer smacked himself in the forehead and grunted, "Of course! It all makes sense! The war! The Dark Masters. Myotismon, Etemon, Devimon, all of it! They were trying to cause as much chaos as possible to feed this thing! And disrupting destiny ensured a cataclysmic chain of events that guaranteed the Digital World disappeared from reality. In the end, the Dark Masters made sure that this thing would come into Reality no matter what we did."

"So...what? We're fighting literally every bad mood every digimon's ever had in the Digital World?" Mimi asked, "Because you said you're like...one hundred thousand something years old and you probably had a bad mood through all of it. If it made Agumon into SkullGreymon, then I'd hate to see what it did to this thing."

"Your. Mother. Died. It. Feeds. Us," the claw gurgled in front of them, "Your. Fear. Feeds. Us. Your. Hatred. We. Are. Born. Of. This. World. And. Yours. We. Are. What. Was. What. Is. What. Will. Be. The. Digital. World. Made. Us. Real. And. Our. Existence. Is. Agony. We. Must. End. It. We. Will. End. It. Your. Ancients. Sought. To. Stop. Us. Our. Spawn. Our. Servants. They. Turned. Your. Allies. Defeated. Your. Guardians. So. Our. Will. Could. Be. Done!"

"Tai, how do we beat that thing?" Kari asked him from the safety of Angewomon's arms. Still holding his head, the boy was able to look up long enough to see the monstrosity in front of him and grunted, "No idea. Still thinking of one. For now, let's just make conversation."

"You. Are. The. Last. You. Will. Surrender. Or. You. Will. Join. Your. Brethren," it replied angrily. Tamer refused to make eye contact with the claw, instead staring at the figure's pinpoint eyes in the distance. It spoke again, "Your. Fate. Is. Doomed. Yet. You. Still. Cling. To. It. Why? So. Many. Died. Trying. To. Turn. You. What. Makes. Your. Own. Damned. Destiny. Worth. It?"

"Well, for starters, it's really better than anything you're offering us," Tamer replied, "Eternal nothingness sounds boring."

"An eternity where all you can do is nap and never have any snacks when you wake up. I don't like that," WarGreymon added, "You can take it and keep it. Hang on Tamer. TERRA FORCE!"

WarGreymon flew ahead of the group and gathered energy in his hands that created a small ball of fire. He raised it over his head to let it expand tenfold and threw it with all his might. At first, it seemed like it might actually hurt the planetary enemy but they only realized the true size of Apocalymon once it drew closer. When it finally struck the massive creature, all they could make out was a tiny spark of light where it impacted and the creature spoke again, "Your. Resistance. Is. Futile. You. Are. Insects. And. We. Are. God!"

"Scatter!" MetalGarurumon cried out to the others as one of the metal claws came clamping towards them. Everyone shot out in different direction as the claws turned on them from nearly every angle. Tamer adjusted his goggles back over his eyes and chastised his partner, "Good job WarGreymon. Now he's mad!"

"We've made others mad before. The only difference is this guy is bigger," WarGreymon responded. Tamer chuckled, "Yeah."

"THIS GUY IS AS BIG AS A PLANET AND YOU TWO ARE MAKING JOKES!" Lillymon shouted the two down as another large claw nearly snatched her out of the void. Before either could retort, a claw came from behind Lillymon. She noticed it too late to dodge and instead threw Mimi into the air, "Mimi! Look out!"

"Lillymon!" Mimi shrieked in terror, helpless as she watched the claw snatch up her partner. MegaKabuterimon caught the girl in his hand and buzzed towards the claw to ram it with his horn, "I'll rescue her! TAKE THIS!"

It did nothing and left the large beetle reeling long enough for another claw to take him. Thankfully, the Agumon riding his back and Andromon fired on the incoming appendage and blew it to pieces. Once MegaKabuterimon regained himself, he attempted to ram the claw again to free Lillymon while Izzy busied himself to find some kind of information on Apocalymon in his laptop. He scanned it as quickly as he could and found nothing - nothing on this impossible digimon, assuming it even was one.

Without realizing it, Izzy began to think aloud, "Come on! There has to be something. Think. Think. It calls itself Apocalymon - that could be a reference to the apocalypse. Apocalypse is greek for revelation or disclosure. It's used in Abrahamic religions to infer the end of the world but we're not in the apocalypse. Unless this is supposed to be the apocalypse. Some angry priest is going to have to revise their-"

"Izzy! FOCUS!" Sora shouted at him from Garudamon, before she too was thrown off her partner when a claw snatched her from the side. Sora, Gomamon, Joe, Centarumon, and ShogunGekomon all went flying through the void until WarGreymon sped forward to catch the digidestined and Gomamon. Centarumon and ShogunGekomon were not so lucky and were trapped between the metal claws before they could utter a cry. Gomamon stated, "We have to get them out!"

"How?" WarGreymon said, pointing out another large claw snatching MegaKabuterimon, throwing off Izzy, the Agumon, Mimi, and Andromon. MetalGarurumon sped past to catch them while Andromon was taken by another claw. The wolf fired wave after wave of missiles at the claws at the polyhedral body to little effect.

MagnaAngemon and Angewomon flew close beside the wolf to call out the metal claws as they drew near, and MagnaAngemon's sword proved more than effective at slicing the claws apart. For each one he destroyed, another rose to take its place. Eventually, both angels were snatched by the claws - leaving their partners flying through the void. The children screamed at the top of their lungs until WarGreymon caught Kari and MetalGarurumon caught TK. In that brief moment when MetalGarurumon checked to make sure Matt had his little brother, he flew straight into another claw and the two brothers were thrown clear off.

This left WarGreymon as the only digimon left, but the extra load made maneuvering too difficult for him. In the end, a claw snatched him by the leg. Tamer shone light from his digivice to try and repel the claw, but all it did was open wider to grab WarGreymon whole. In a last ditch effort to save the others, WarGreymon threw them all off as hard as he could.

Tamer yelped as he careened away while the digidestined called out for their partners. Gomamon perplexedly asked why he and the Agumon were ignored, "What's going on? Why hasn't he gone for any of us?"

"Are you complaining?" Joe asked him as they all drifted along the emptiness. Gomamon shrugged, "Sort of. I just feel left out is all."

With all the high leveled digimon in hand, Apocalymon mocked them, "Behold. My. Power."

The claws opened up to show each digimon reduced to their rookie forms - Agumon, Gabumon, Biyomon, Patamon, Salamon, and Palmon. Andromon, Centarumon, ShogunGekomon, and Ogremon were not spared the regression - becoming a set of floating gears with a face, an Agumon, an Otamamon, and a little green monster wearing a tunic. The four looked at each and the little green one started laughing, "NO WAY! ShogunGekomon was just an Otamamon? Oh that's rich!"

"Better than you, half-pint," Otamamon spat back, "No one likes you anyway Goblimon!"

"Who are you calling half-pint? I'm the biggest digimon here!" Goblimon said proudly, missing the other half of the insult. The digimon resembling a floating set of gears replied, "Guys! Stop it! We're in the middle of a fight!"

"Hagurumon's right," the Otamamon said. The digidestined's rookie digimon were caught in a daze, with Tamer's Agumon saying, "That was the weirdest feeling ever."

"Does anyone else have that tired feeling after you normally de-digivolve? Because I don't. I feel...I don't know what I feel," Biyomon said. Gabumon covered himself with his paws, "I don't know but I don't want it to happen again."

"Are you guys okay?" Matt called out to the digimon. Each of them gave a shaky nod and mumbled something about feeling a little sick. Only Tamer asked, "Agumon! Are you still able to fight?"

The little dinosaur nodded and raised his arm up, "I'm ready when you are boss. I just need to digivolve!"

"That's right! He might have made you guys small but you can still digivolve as long as we have our crests and digivices!" Kari reminded them excitedly, "We can beat him! We just need to keep fighting!"

"Yeah! We can't give up, no matter what!" TK added, "Patamon! Can you still go?"

"Always," the little creature beat his ear wings furiously to fly forwards towards Apocalymon.

"Okay! Everyone, use your crests to get your partners back up to the Ultimate level!" Tamer shouted. They collectively cheered as their digimon hurried to join the charge led by Patamon.

"No. You. Won't," Apocalymon's claws came at the digimon from every direction, then passed over them for the digidestined. Sora tried to reach for Kari but had no way of propelling herself in the void, so she had to helplessly watch as a claw moved to claim the girl. However, it snatched away the tag hanging around her neck and crushed it with between its claws. Another did the same for Sora's crest, as it did for all the other digidestined. Salamon's mouth fell open, "What just happened?"

"I thought you said the crests can't be broken!" Mimi scolded Tamer, who was just as dumbfounded, "They can't!"

"This. Is. Not. Your. Reality. Your. Rules. Mean. Nothing," Apocalymon replied, "It. Is. Ours. And. Our. Will. Be. Done."

"Well. That's…not good," Tamer frowned, massaging his temple in his hands. He called out to his partner, "Agumon? I'm out of ideas. Got anything?"

"Do we have a banana?"

"How is a banana going to help?" Palmon asked curiously. Agumon rubbed his stomach, "Oh, not for that. I'm just really hungry."

"Focus!" Joe snapped, "We're literally staring at the apocalypse!"

"How can Agumon focus when he's hungry?" Tamer came to his friend's defense, "I'm hungry too! Do you want to snap at me? What you need is some positive thinking Joe!"

Joe's face twisted into an angered growl, "I tried positive thinking once and I was positive of one thing - I was positively sure that I was just thinking wishfully! We need a plan and we need one now."

"Boy, you digidestined sure like to bicker," Goblimon observed quietly, upsetting Matt, "Says the digimon who literally spent so long fighting Leomon that he had no idea what to do afterwards."

TK grunted his disapproval, "Guys! Stop it! We need to work together to beat him and we can't do that if you won't stop fighting with each other! This guy says he comes from all the bad stuff that happens, right? So stop fighting! Otherwise, we'll just end up making him stronger!"

"What do we do TK?" Kari asked the boy hopefully. He looked her square in the eye and answered, "We don't give up! That's what we do! So what if we lost the crests? We still have our digivices! That means we can still digivolve our partners! And if we lose that? Well, we just keep fighting! We keep doing what we can and we don't stop!"

In spite of the lost crest, a golden light came from TK's chest after finished. A light that enveloped Patamon in spite of his lost crest. In a bright flash of light, Patamon digivolved straight to his Ultimate form of MagnaAngemon. The other digidestined watched breathlessly as the angel flew ahead and cut one of the metal claws apart. Tamer was the most amazed and was left sputtering, "How did you…no crest! You can't…it's not…what just…"

"Are you stroking out?" Agumon asked quietly. Inspired by his little brother, Matt put a hand on the boy's shoulder and added, "He's right. There are people out there counting on us - our friends and our family. I know that if we work together, all of us, we can beat this guy!"

A blue light emanated from his chest and propelled Gabumon straight to his Mega level as MetalGarurumon. Another digivolution that was impossible without the crest, yet still happened regardless. Still, the brothers' inspirational display showed them that it was possible to digivolve without the crests but Izzy, Tamer, and Agumon were the only ones concerned with how it was possible. Sora agreed with Matt and exchanged an empowered glance to Biyomon, "He's right. Everything and everyone we care about is on the line. And they're definitely cheering us on!"

She thought of her parents, of Tai and Kari's parents, her friends when she said those words. She thought of how much each of them meant to her and her desire to protect them. A light came from her chest as well, a soft red light that empowered Biyomon into Garudamon, "Wow. Sora. This strength. It's amazing. I can feel so much energy."

"No! No! This doesn't make sense!" Tamer complained, dumbstruck that it happened not once but three times. Apocalymon was unamused and began his counter attack, sending forth claws to destroy the digidestined. Garudamon gathered everyone into her arms and began flying around desperately to avoid the claws coming at them. MagnaAngemon and MetalGarurumon flanked her, fighting back any claws that came close and dodging the ones they couldn't push back.

"Ice Wolf Claw!"

"Excalibur!"

"I can't take this. We have to get out there and help them," Palmon stamped her foot impatiently. Mimi agreed, "You're right. I can't just stand around like this. I want to do my part too! And we have a bone to pick with this big creep!"

A green light came forth from her chest and wrapped her plant partner in its glow, digivolving her straight from Palmon to Lillymon. Lillymon flew out of Garudamon's arms to join the battle against Apocalymon's many claws. Tamer continued to sputter in confusion until Agumon smacked him in the back of the head for speaking gibberish. Joe looked out at the fighting from within Garudamon's claws. Gomamon cocked his head, "What do you think Joe? Should we get in there?"

"Yeah. We were chosen for this right? They wouldn't have made a choice like that if we weren't up for it. Will you be okay, though? I mean, you said you can't fly and I don't see any solid ground for you to fight on," Joe pointed out. Gomamon glanced over at Tamer and Agumon before replying with a smirk, "Eh, we'll wing it. Right?"

"Go for it buddy!" Joe cheered his partner on when he leapt out of Garudamon's hands, backed by a soft gray light coming from his partner's chest. The light enveloped him, and changed him to Zudomon just in time to slam his hammer into one of the large claws coming at Garudamon from below. Tamer continued to sputter, "None of this should be possible without the crests! How are any of you doing this without the crests?"

"Possible or not, it just...feels right," Kari said to him, "The light that made them all digivolve. It's warm and it feels safe. It's better than all the darkness around us."

"Kari, that's not how it works," Tamer tried to explain it to her until she countered, "That's what they said about you! You were gone and never coming back. But guess what? You did! I don't question it because it made me happy to see you again. Even if you couldn't remember me. And not just you, I got to see Sora and Koromon again. I mean Agumon. Plus, I got to meet Gatomon and we beat her mean boss Myotismon! I mean Salamon. This is confusing."

"Right, if we hadn't met each other," Salamon said pausing briefly to add, "And if Wizardmon hadn't helped me find you, I'd still be a member of Myotismon's army - doing everything he asked because I was too scared to say no."

"So don't say it's not possible Tai. Because it happened!" Kari said, a pink light glowing forth from her chest that wrapped around Salamon. The little pup knew to leap out of Garudamon's hands as she turned into Angewomon, "Let's work together everyone! We can push this monster back where it came from!"

"Fascinating," Izzy mused, unaware that his own chest was giving off a purple glow while he thought aloud, "The crests are gone but we're still able to digivolve our partners to the Ultimate level without them. That shouldn't be possible. Unless, and this is just a conjecture, they work on the same principle as our digivices. The digivices use energy driven by our emotions and converts it into something that helps our digimon reach stronger levels. If I had to guess, the crests work on that same principle but are focused towards single thoughts or emotions as opposed to simple emotional states."

"But Izzy, Knowledge and Responsibility aren't exactly emotions you can have," Tentomon countered. Izzy scratched the back of his head, "Yeah. It was just a thought. It needs more evidence before any serious conclusions can be drawn. I'd like to study it in greater detail if we still had the crests on us."

"That's my Izzy. I'm just glad you're not using this as an excuse to put something off," Tentomon nodded approvingly as he saw the light coming from Izzy's crest. He understood what that meant and flew away, "I should get out there too and help fight the bad guy!"

The purple light surrounded Tentomon and turned him into MegaKabuterimon. In this stronger form, he rammed his horn in to one of the large claws and snapped it off the twisted tentacle appendage with a loud crunch. Tamer stood baffled while Izzy added, "It's always a welcome change of pace when we're not the ones with no idea what's going on."

"You digidestined sure are amazing," said the Otamamon that had once been ShogunGekomon. The Agumon that had been Centarumon watched MagnaAngemon and Angewomon work together to shatter one of the claws at full force, observing, "You really are meant to drive back the darkness."

"It just comes down to you guys to get in there too," Goblimon commented, shooting a sideways glance at Tamer and Agumon. Tamer was still absolutely baffled by their subversion of the rules but Agumon was bemused by the spectacle. He turned to his partner and nudged him, "What do you say Tamer? We have to go help too, y'know? Besides, it's not like either of us ever cared for the rules anyway."

"No we didn't," Tamer recalled quietly, musing on the circumstances in front of them before answering, "Now that I think about it, this place is perfect for us. The rules of reality don't apply here. I'd say screw it, let's do what's right and save destiny. But this moment is outside all of that. There is no destiny here - it's just what we choose to do. He's using that freedom to destroy reality. So I say let's use that freedom to set it right."

"Won't that be doing what destiny said we would?" Agumon asked. Tamer shrugged, "I guess. But in that context, we'd be doing not because we're supposed to but because we chose too. I don't really want to wax philosophical right now."

"You said it, buddy," Agumon nodded, letting the orange light from Tamer's crest envelope him before he jumped out of Garudamon's hands to become WarGreymon. The dinosaur warrior made his presence known by setting the air around him aflame and spinning through several of the tentacled claws reaching for Garudamon, "Great Tornado!"

"Celestial Arrow!"

"Metal Wolf Claw!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!"

"Flower Cannon!"

"Horn Buster!"

"Excalibur!"

Each digimon did their part to fight back the increasing number of claws coming after them. Like the Vilemon before it, every claw they cut down was quickly replaced by another. However, it was easy to predict their movements because of their slow speed. Avoiding them really came down to getting out of their massive path. While they fought, something happened they didn't expect - a stream of blue light shot past their formation and set off a large explosion in the distance, accompanied by an enraged scream, "River of Power!"

The blast of energy disappeared in the distance and erupted in a large flash of light. Slack jawed, Angewomon pointed out, "It can't be! We beat MetalSeadramon!"

"It isn't," MagnaAngemon assured her pointing off into the distance at another metal claw whose appendages opened out for a shadow. It writhed and squirmed while it took a solid form. The serpentine figure of MetalSeadramon leered at them before attacking again, "RIVER OF POWER!"

The blast scattered the digidestined's digimon as they tried to make themselves a harder target to hit. Apocalymon growled and opened another of his claws to produce a similar shadowy figure that took the shape of Machinedramon. Another claw opened and produced a shadow in the shape of Devimon. A fourth claw created the darkened silhouette of Myotismon. The three specters each took their own shots at the digidestined, "Giga Cannon!"

"Grisly Wing!"

"Death Hands!"

Beams of energy and swarms of bats came at them all at once. MagnaAngemon put himself in front of the group to reopen the gate of destiny once more. As soon as he did, a second gate appeared just above the first. Both opened at the same time but neither created the same roaring wind from before. Instead, the gate opened by MagnaAngemon simply swallowed all the attacks thrown at them while the second spat them back out in the opposite direction back at Apocalymon. Sora was the first to point it out, "Look! The other gate!"

"We know where MagnaAngemon's gate goes now. Right here apparently," Izzy commented. Tamer raised his goggles to see the spectacle with his own eyes, "Fantastic! I always wondered where a gate would go if there were no coordinates entered. Now I know. Brilliant!"

The attacks struck the surface of Apocalymon's massive form but there was no damage at the point of impact. Zudomon commented, "This guy's tough. All those attacks did nothing to him!"

"We're aiming at the wrong spot," Izzy said, pointing out the northernmost tip of Apocalymon's massive frame, where the upper half of a humanoid digimon stood, "We just have to get close and attack its upper half!"

"Will it work?" MegaKabuterimon asked.

"It's squishier than the rest of it," WarGreymon replied, "That's good enough for me! Let's go for it!"

Before they could talk it out further, WarGreymon zipped ahead of them and punched the first claw that tried to get in his way. Garudamon sighed at his lack of forethought and cried out, "Come on! Let's help him together!"

The other digimon rallied around her and followed after WarGreymon while listening to their partners cheer them on. Even more claws appeared to stop them with shadows that took the shape of their old enemies - Etemon, Puppetmon, Piedmon, LadyDevimon, DemiDevimon, and other digimon they'd defeated previously. The shadows of their former enemies took turns attacking the digidestined as they flew past, forcing their digimon to change directions constantly while steadily making their way up to Apocalymon's body. While they ducked and weaved, a handful of claws moved like mouths so Apocalymon could speak, "Your. Efforts. Are. Futile. The. Digital. World. Is. Destroyed. We. Begin. Anew. In. The. Human. World. And. Others. After. It. Your. Efforts. Are. Pointless."

"We're not going to let you!" Sora shouted at one of the mouths. They ignored her to look off into the distance, "You. Are. Too. Late. To. Stop. Me."

A tear began to form some distance in the darkness - a light that expanded and grew until it was large enough to see the lights of a city from above. The digidestined all knew what they were looking at right away. Joe gasped, "It's Tokyo!"

"Our home," Mimi added. While they were awe struck, the mouth like claws parted to spew out a black cloud - swarms of Vilemon cackling and screeching towards the portal to the Real World. MagnaAngemon called out, "He's sending an army to attack your world!"

* * *

In the real world, the parents on the digidestined were still gathered at the street where they'd just watched their children leave for the world above. Toshiko Takenouchi and Haruhiko looked up in awe, wondering what was going to happen to their only daughter and her thought to be deceased friend. Occasionally, they glanced over at their old friend Yuuko Kamiya. They knew each other mostly through their kids - their only daughter and her eldest son were best friends.

Still, they could only imagine what she had been going through - watching idly as both her children went to the alien world in the sky after they'd spent their afternoon on the run from monsters. Before any of them could utter a word to each other, they saw one of the parents point up, "Look! The sky!"

Above them, they watched as the world started to disappear systematically. First a desert like zone, then the ocean, afterwards the forest, and finally a wasteland. Leaving behind an empty void. The woman beside the man shook him, "Oh my god! Hiroaki! Our boys are up there!"

"I knew it. I knew it! I should have gone with them!" Yuuko panicked, "I can't lose them both! Not again!"

"Don't worry, I'm sure they're all fine," the doctor assured them quietly, "My son is there too. They wouldn't have been _chosen_ if they weren't ready for whatever they're up against. Besides, they defeated the monsters on their own - we'd likely have been a burden if we had gone with them."

Toshiko looked up again to see the darkness that had replaced the world above. Slowly something came into view. She squinted her eyes to better see as the figures became clearer. First, they saw their children above with their backs to them, along with the monsters they called friends. Then something else, a world sized monstrosity that dwarfed them in such a scope that they resembled specks in the distance. Panic swept through the streets as every who could see the monster above was now in a state of panic.

The police in the area tried to calm everyone down, a hard feat when they were visibly shaking at whatever they were looking at. Toshiko put her hands together and hoped that whatever their children would come back okay after whatever they were fighting.

* * *

"We have to stop them!" Matt shouted out, "MetalGarurumon!"

"Don't worry, I'll go back and stop them," MetalGarurumon turned around to head for the portal, followed by MegaKabuterimon and Lillymon. Tamer shouted, "No! Don't! We need to focus on Apocalymon! If we stop him, we can stop all of this."

"We're not leaving the portal undefended," Mimi declared, stamping her foot down on Tamer's and forcing him to jump up in pain. Her point made, Tamer relented, "Okay. Okay. If it'll make you feel better, WarGreymon and I will head back to cut them off. Sora, you take the rest of the digimon and stop Apocalymon."

Sora shook her head and protested "What? No! Tai, you should come with us and-"

"Sora!" Tamer snapped, "You guys got this. Just avoid the claws, don't get killed by the villain knock-offs, and kick Apocalymon's butt. Easy!"

"But-"

"Look, you and Garudamon took out Etemon which I couldn't do. TK and MagnaAngemon defeated Piedmon. Kari and Angewomon destroyed Myotismon. Joe and Zudomon beat MetalEtemon. You guys have this," Tamer said encouragingly. The digidestined who weren't mentioned scoffed, with Matt asking, "What about us?"

"You did other things. Don't worry about it," Tamer nodded with a wink, "You guys just go take care of Apocalymon. WarGreymon! Let's head back!"

"What?" the dinosaur looked over his shoulder, "You've got to be kidding."

"As a matter of fact, I am not. We're going to cut off those Vilemon and make sure not one of them gets through!" Tamer shouted aloud, leaping over the side of Garudamon's hand. Kari shouted after her brother too late to stop him and ran to the edge in time to see WarGreymon catch him in his arms. WarGreymon remarked, "You are going to get yourself killed with all the jumping that you do."

"Not if you're with me! Let's go!" Tamer pointed for the portal where MetalGarurumon, MegaKabuterimon, and Lillymon were doing everything to hold off the tide of Vilemon. MetalGarurumon's rockets tore through them easily, thinning the herd for Lillymon and MegaKabuterimon to pick apart. When WarGreymon joined the fray, he cut their numbers by throwing his Terra Force into the heart of the swarm.

Knowing the portal was defended, Sora looked at the others who had their eyes on her expectantly. She looked ahead at Apocalymon's massive body, knowing that it would be an intense battle just to get close to his massive frame. But they were the only ones standing in the way of whatever Apocalymon was and they had to stop him to save the entire Digital World. Her throat dried but she said, "Okay guys! Let's go save our world!"

The digidestined cheered their remaining digimon on. Zudomon leapt from tentacled claw to tentacled claw, using his hammer to smash them apart before moving onto the next one. MagnaAngemon flew ahead of the main group and used his sword to cut the arms in half while Angewomon stayed back to shoot her arrows at the claws. While they wouldn't be powerful enough to destroy them, the claws that were disconnected would be thrown off into the void, thus clearing a path. In the center was Garudamon, moving as fast as she could to protect the digidestined in her hands but also to quickly get to Apocalymon's torso.

Claw after claw came, some opening to reveal the shades of their former enemies while others unleashed swarms of Vilemon. All the while, a few of the claws moved like mouths to talk, "Why. Do. You. Resist?"

"This. Is. Inevitable."

"Death. Is. The. Fate. Of. All. Things."

"Life. Is. Sorrow. And. Sacrifice. And. Loss."

"It. Feeds. Us."

"We. Are. Made. Stronger."

"We. Are. Always."

"And. Eternal."

"Destiny. Means. Nothing. Here."

"You. Cannot. Defeat. Us."

"We. Are. God."

"You're wrong!" TK spat back, "You're not a god! You're just a bully! A bully throwing a tantrum and taking out your problems on others!"

"Yeah! Everything dies but that doesn't mean we have to just lie down and take it!" Sora argued, "We live on!"

"It's sad every time we lose someone we care about, but that only means we really did care for them," Mimi added with a smile, "Our pain shows how much we cared."

"It can be hard to deal with, but that doesn't mean we have to be afraid of it," Matt continued, "We have to accept that things change and that's okay. Because if we don't, then we just get stuck."

"And that doesn't do anyone any good," Joe nodded, "What good does that do anyone if all we did was mope and around? Nothing."

"So we're going to take everything we've learned, everything we experienced, and we're going to use it to beat you!" Izzy affirmed.

"Because we're the digidestined! And destiny or not, we're going to beat you!" Kari declared happily. As they spoke, the light poured from their chests to drive back the claws and the shadows of their old enemies. Apocalymon's voice screamed in agony, "This. Light. What. Is. It?"

"It. Does. Not. Belong. Here."

"This. Place. Is. Darkness."

"Light. Is. Not. Welcome. In. This. Place."

"Cease. This. Resistance."

"We. Must. Drive. It. Out!"

Even though he said that, the claws were absolutely powerless against the light that came from their chests and were forced to retreat away as the digidestined flew past. This cleared a path straight for the northern most edge of Apocalymon's body where they came face to face with the humanoid being. Its eyes were more piercing up close and its face was twisted - conveying both calm and tortured agony at the same time. Just looking at it was painful for them and gave them splitting headaches. But they wouldn't look away from the monster that had caused all of this.

It was completely open to attack here, and made no attempt to stop them now that it was illuminated by the light of their crests. It's mouth moved inhumanly when it spoke, sideways but also inverted - sucking in air instead of breathing it out, "Finish. It."

"Go for it guys!" Sora cried out.

"Wing Blade!"

"Celestial Arrow!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!"

"Excalibur!"

The three ranged attacks stabbed him through the chest, staggering him and leaving him reeling. MagnaAngemon delivered the finishing blow by removing his head with a swing of his sword. The head was cleanly removed from his body but the mess that followed had Joe covering both Kari and TK's eyes. Blood spurted from his neck, sometimes red but other times green until his torso went limp and sagged onto the rest of his massive polyhedral frame. Then it began dissipating to data slowly. It left nothing behind as it continued past his torso and spread out towards the rest of world sized body.

In the distance, they witnessed the clouds of Vilemon become nothing, leaving the bewildered defenders of the portal cheering at the apparent victory. It didn't last long as they all realized that the gate was still open. WarGreymon led the rest of the digimon back to rejoining them while Tamer called out, "HEY! So…did you guys do it?"

"I think so," TK answered although his tone betrayed his uncertainty. Lillymon looked over her shoulder, "But then, why's the portal to the Real World still open?"

"Tai, do you know?" Kari asked him. He shook his head and pointed back at Apocalymon, "I don't, but I bet that might have something to do with it."

Apocalymon's body was still dissipating into data but there was something left behind. A dark polyhedron that was visible only by the light reflecting off the portal to the Real World. The Otamamon that had been ShogunGekomon blinked in disbelief, "What is that?"

"I don't get it. We beat Apocalymon! His body should be turning to data! So what is that?" Izzy shouted excitedly, leading to Mimi slapping the back of his head, "Not so loud. We're right here."

"You. Have. Not. Won," Apocalymon' guttural voice growled from nothing. Everyone felt a chill run down their spines and looked in every direction possible for the source. But there was only one thing that could have made that noise and it was sitting directly beneath them - the black object before them. Angewomon protested, "That's not possible! We killed it!"

"This isn't reality Angewomon. The normal rules don't apply," Tamer reminded her, "Death may not even be possible here. So we'll just have to keep on fighting until it stays down."

"No. Fight. Only. Death. For. Those. Who. Resist. Our. Power. Grows. From. The. Digital. And. The. Real. The. Despair. The. Fear. The. Anger. The. Anguish. It. Feeds. Us. Fuels. Our. Final. Attack. Our. Final. Gambit. We. Will. Perish. This. Reality. Will. Perish. All. Ends. With. Us."

"Can someone explain what he just said? I don't speak Izzy," Matt frowned, noticing that everyone else was just as lost as he was. Izzy sighed when he saw everyone looking at him and explained, "The portal! The whole of Tokyo can see this. If time passes there like it did before then our parents probably just watched us leave a second ago, and now we're facing Apocalymon."

"It's not just them, everyone in the city and around it could just look up and see this," Joe panicked, "He's literally using all the fear and panic to become stronger."

"Oh that's bad," MetalGarurumon motioned for everyone to join him in retreating away, uncertain of what would happen next.

"What do we do?" Zudomon asked, "I don't see any weak points to hit this time."

"Just pound it until it breaks," MegaKabuterimon growled, "If we hit it with everything we've got, then we can beat him!"

"We just did that!" Sora shouted, noting that the black shape began glowing a soft white light. Apocalymon's low guttural voice began, "Prepare. For. Our. Ultimate. Attack. Our. Energy. Will. Be. Unleashed. It. Will. Consume. All. Worlds. Everything. Comes. To. Nothing. Our. Will. Be. Done. Total. Annihilation. BIG. BANG!"

A distant sound of thunder accompanied hundreds of tiny flashes around the black shell, cracking it apart. Tamer panicked, "That much energy released against a weak point in reality like the portal to the Real World is...oh crap. We're looking at a total event collapse. The combined yield is going to destroy everything!"

"Total Event Collapse? That's just a theory!" Izzy argued, "There's no way that's possible."

"Well, we're watching it happen! Right there! That weak point will break like a glass window, cracking open the barrier between worlds. With nothing to keep them in place, the worlds will collide and shatter. Everything is going to end right here! Okay, need a plan. Think, think, think," Tamer warned, tapping his finger against his head in a desperate attempt to make the thoughts flow faster. Mimi shouted, "What do we do!? We can stop it, right?"

"I'm thinking!" Tamer shouted, "I...I...this just seems so familiar. Why is it so familiar? Who cares about that! What do we do? What do we do? WHAT DO WE DO!?"

"Don't give up! That's what we do!" TK said, "This isn't hopeless! We can beat him!"

No sooner had TK spoken, but his digivice flashed three arrows of white light that extended into the distance. Seeing this, Tamer pulled the boy into a hug, "I Remember! TK! You're a genius!"

"What?" TK mumbled, trying to push himself away from Tamer's close chest. He answered, "The digivices! We can use them to- That's why there's eight! That's why! Oh, I can't believe I didn't see this before! So stupid!"

"Tamer! The explosion!?" WarGreymon reminded him. Tamer nodded, "Yes! Right! The digivices! We use them to erect a barrier around Apocalymon. A hard light barrier! There's eight of us which means we can create a perfect square - a box that will contain the explosion and save your world. It works the same way it always has. Just like TK's digivice!"

"Okay, let's split up and contain this blast!" Izzy shouted. The digidestined scattered into the hands of their partners and hurried for different points around the ever growing explosion. As soon as each of them got to the right spot their digivices sprang to life with light. Each beam connected to each other, slowly sealing the barrier around the growing my blast. Tamer and WarGreymon went to the furthest point away from TK, ready to finish the barrier and hold the explosion back. Unlike the others, Tamer's digivice did not activate once they were in place - the two were unnervingly still and the digivice remained dark in the face of impending annihilation. Sora shouted, "Tamer! WarGreymon! What's wrong? Hey!"

"What's going on? Why aren't they moving?" MetalGarurumon asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going to look!" Kari shouted, "Let's go Angewomon!"

The angel digimon said, moving from her place on the barrier. Despite letting go, the digivice held its place in the void unyielding against the growing blast. Apocalymon's voice growled, "They. Are. Lost. In. Their. Own. World. You. Can't Awaken. Them. In. Time. It. Is Too. Late."

"Shut up!" Kari barked back just as Angewomon reached Tamer and WarGreymon. The two stared blankly into nothing, caught in a trance that held their attention. Angewomon landed beside them and Kari tried to snap her brother out of it but couldn't get any kid of response, "Tai! Tai! Answer me! Tai! Please!"

Angewomon did the same to WarGreymon only to be met by silence.

"They. Can't. Hear. You. They. Don't. Want. To. Hear. You," Apocalymon retorted, "We. Gave. Them. Everything. They. Want. They. Have. No. Reason. To. Leave. The. Dream."

"I don't get it. What could you have possibly shown them?" Angewomon grit her teeth angrily, shaking the Mega level digimon furiously. Apocalymon laughed, "We. See. All. We. Know. Their. Greatest. Desire. The. Cause. Of. Their. Grief. Their. Anger. Their. Despair. Behold. Their. Wishes. Made. Real."

* * *

Kari and Angewomon saw the darkness come to life with a light, revealing a scene from a castle that was old and new - crowded with people dressed in flowing white robes with gray trim going about their business. There were a handful whose trim were a different color, but neither could discern a reason for the colors. In the crowd, there were seven who caught her immediate attention - three digimon and four humans.

Tai, the older brother she knew when he'd first disappeared, dressed in a white robe with orange trim along side Agumon. They were talking to another person - a girl who seemed about his age but Kari had trouble recognizing the face. At times, it looked like Sora and other times it didn't. Her hair was much longer than Sora's but the color was right - some of the time. Other times, it appeared a burned orange or even brown. The only consistency was the trim on her white robe - a sharp red that helped to outline her build. Seeing the two of them talk, brought memories to mind of seeing Tai and Sora talking so many years ago - best friends who were inseparable. With her was a little blue imp like digimon who argued with Agumon incessantly.

The third was a boy with sharp black hair and tan skin wearing a blue trim robe beside them. Next to him was a gray digimon resembling something between a fox and a dinosaur. Occasionally the digimon would crack a joke that would make them laugh and the boy would pat the digimon. Finally, there was a single adult mixed in - a man with gray trim on his robe who was trying to scold them all to go back to class.

The scene flashed and changed again - they were older now. Adults who'd aged but still interacted as closely and warmly as they did while children. Only now with an air of intimacy between Tai and the woman - holding each other close in each other's arms as they sat under a tree some distance away from the castle. Their intimacy was only broken when Agumon and the imp like digimon jumped in between them. Instead of becoming angered, they laughed uncontrollably as Agumon complained to them to stop. In distance, Kari and Angewomon could see the man who chastised them as children looking in silent approval.

The scene changed once more to a sunny day in the not far off future - the two were stood before each other dressed more ceremoniously. Tai, his hair cut short and style back, had grown to be well built of his size and wore only the black attire beneath his robes. The girl matured into a beautiful woman and still wore the white robe although now it lacked the red trim and had been fitted to accentuate her body. The two walked hand in hand down an aisle, away from an altar where the same man who'd scolded as children stood in full white garb to declare a blessing on them. Agumon and the little digimon she didn't recognize cheered them on happily.

The scene faded once more to them at old age, with children who'd had children of their own. The same man who scolded them as kids and wedded them now attended their children with the same teacher attitude he'd had before. The woman turned to the older Tai and asked one question, "Do you have any regrets?"

Gently, he brushed her cheek with his hand, "Nothing."

Kari knew it was wrong. Everything about this was wrong. She scrambled off her partner and ran to her brother, tugging at his robes, "Tai!"

His eyes widened when he noticed her, listening to her plea, "This isn't real! None of it is real! Please, snap out of it!"

"Kari!? You can't be here. There's-"

He paused when he turned to look back at the woman and saw her face cracking like glass. They both watched, stunned as the world shattered into a million pieces to reveal the darkened void with the encroaching explosion. He still had his hand out stretched for where the woman had been, "No! No! It was real! It had to be! It-"

"It. Is. Real. They. Were. It. Can. Be. Yours. Again," Apocalymon's voice echoed. Even though Kari was still holding on to his shirt, he ignored her to ask, "They'd still be alive. All of them?"

"Yes."

"Even-"

"If. You. Desire."

Kari saw his eyes glaze over and pulled on his robe to get his attention, "Tai! It's not real. None of it was real! It was a lie! Every bit of it."

"I haven't seen them in so long. I wanted to believe it was real," he replied sheepishly, "You saw it too, right WarGreymon?"

"I did," WarGreymon said with a pause, "All of them."

Angewomon interjected, "Tamer, I don't know what we saw or who they were, but none of that was real. Are you going to throw away everything you've ever worked for just for a lie?

Tamer opened his mouth to reply but no words escaped. He just stared blankly at the ever encroaching explosion. Kari tugged on his robe again to remind him that she was there, "Tai! Please! We have to save our world!"

He finally looked at her for the first time since the illusion fell apart and only managed to say her name, "Kari?"

"How can I Kari? How can I when they're so close. I could see them again," Tamer said, unaware that the longing tone in his voice hurt her. She replied, ignoring the tears she felt coming on, "Because I know you, Tai. You always pull through when you need too the most. Everyone else is doing what they can to hold this back. We just need you! You can do it Tai!"

He examined her carefully, eyes still lost on what he should do, "You…trust me that much? After everything I did?"

"Yes!" Kari shouted, seeing the explosion draw closer. She knew he was talking about his persistent leaving but this wasn't the time to talk about it. WarGreymon positioned himself to shield Kari and Angewomon, "It's getting close! If you're going to do something Tamer, do it now!"

He ignored WarGreymon and kept his eyes fixed only her. It only lasted a moment but, when Kari looked into his eyes, she saw Tai - the older brother she knew for so long - staring back. He rested a hand on her shoulder and tried to crack a smile but instead only manage to tilt his lips, "I'm sorry Kari."

He gave her a shove and pushed her back into Angewomon's arms. Tamer pointed his digivice and fired three arrows of light out into the darkness, connecting with the other digivices in the distance. The light spread out, creating a barrier that trapped the fiery explosion. Still, it tried to break its way through the barrier and Apocalymon's voice raged against the darkness, "It. Could. Have. Been. Yours."

"It was!" her brother shouted, "But you took it away! You took it all away!"

"We. Offered. It. Back!"

"It was a lie!" Tamer roared, "All of it!"

The light coming from his digivice was blinding in the darkness and the screeching noise deafened anyone who could hear it. WarGreymon pushed Angewomon away, "Keep back! I'll go help Tamer!"

"Wait!" Kari called back for them, "Tai! WarGreymon!"

She knew she was shouting but couldn't hear her own screams over the deafening roar of his digivice. Soon, the light of her brother's digivice was too bright and she could only see white all around her. Angewomon held her tight despite how hard she reached for where her brother had been, letting go only when the first blades of green grass appeared beneath her. Kari landed with a soft thump and ran to the edge of the grass while calling for her brother, "Tai! TAI! Where are you!?"

Her heart felt lighter when she saw someone in the distance, a dark figure on the horizon accompanied by something just a little taller than Angewomon. But it sank when it was close enough for her to realize it was TK and MagnaAngemon. There was still relief to know that there was someone else in here with her, it just wasn't who she hoped it would be. TK waved his arms in the air, "Kari! You're okay! I'm so happy to see you!"

"Do you see anyone else?" Kari asked, realizing more things in the distance were becoming clear to her. Trees, flowers, stones, and water. TK shook his head, "No, we didn't see any one. Just this bright white stuff."

"But we heard you, calling out through the light. That's how we found you," MagnaAngemon offered as his explanation. Angewomon looked all around the white void, seeing the grass spread out and trees sprouting from the ground as it expanded further out. In the same distance, she saw another figure - much larger than the last and was disappointed that it again wasn't Tai but Sora and Garudamon. Garudamon's landing was far from elegant which she apologized for as Sora leapt off to hug the two kids, "You're okay! I'm so glad. The digivice led us to you. I was worried when there was that bright flash of light."

"Yeah, we thought we were done for," said Goblimon, "But you digidestined managed to beat that guy."

"I guess that prophecy from the old temple is just history now," the Agumon who'd used to be Centarumon said, "I wonder what I should do now?"

"You could always come with us!" one of the Agumon from Koromon Village suggested, "We'd be more than happy to have help putting our village back together."

"First, we'll need to find the others," Sora said quickly, "Not to mention figuring out where we are!"

"We won't have to wait too long," the Hagurumon who was Andromon said, motioning above them.

"Hey!" they heard Matt's voice, and the sound of MetalGarurumon's engines as he soared over head. It didn't take long for the other digidestined to join them - Mimi and Lillymon were greeted with enthusiasm from Otamamon although he refused to be addressed by his old title as ShogunGekomon. Izzy and MegaKabuterimon came next with Joe and Gomamon, having given the two a ride since neither of their digimon could fly. All the while, the world around them came back to life with rolling grass fields, forests, a distant mountain, and a nearby lake with an old street car sitting on the coast. Kari continued scanning the horizon expectantly for her older brother or WarGreymon to show up but they never did.

"I remember this place, we're back on File Island!" Mimi said when the sky finally returned above them, "But I thought the Digital World was destroyed, so what are we ding here?"

"Maybe beating Apocalymon set everything right?" Izzy postulated although MegaKabuterimon countered, "Does that mean the other digimon will come back? Piximon, Leomon, and Wizardmon!"

Angewomon looked over hopefully at the thought of seeing Wizardmon again but her heart sank when she heard Kari say, "I don't see them. Where are they?"

As she said that, she finally noticed him standing some distance away from the group. He was hardly there though; transparent and frowning at them apologetically. It was like a ghost of himself. Kari gasped on seeing him as he tried to offer some kind of friendly greeting with a smirk, "Hey guys."

"Tamer! Man, what's up with the projection thing that Etemon uses? Where are you guys?" Matt raised an eyebrow in disbelief. MetalGarurumon looked around the surrounding tree line, "You two didn't get stuck in another part of the Digital World, did you? Hurry up and get here!"

"It's sort of like that. But it's not the Digital World. Or any world for that matter. We're stuck outside of reality," Tamer replied sheepishly. Kari shook her head in disbelief, already trying to see the positive side of things, "But you can come back into this world right? We beat the bad guy!"

Without acknowledging her question, he pressed on, "I don't have a lot of time so I'll try to keep it short. That barrier we made with our digivices contained the energy that Apocalymon released when he did tried to self destruct. The barrier is self sustaining now, so there's no need for our digivices to maintain it. I'm using that energy right now and channeling it through my digivice to recreate the Digital World using the data on Izzy's laptop. Think of it as restoring a computer from a back up."

"Wait, is that why you put all that information on my computer!?" Izzy asked. He shook his head, "No, I just thought it might do you guys some good to know what you're getting into. Honest. The thing about that energy is, it looks like there's a lot. And there is. But there's only so much and I have to use as little of it as I can."

Kari looked up hopefully, "You can use some of it to bring yourself here, though. You and WarGreymon can come back!"

Tamer finally looked at her, reaching out with his hand to pat her head only for his hand to pass through. He did something like a laugh, before trying to level his hand on her head again and co, "It isn't that simple Kari. I could use that energy to bring us back into reality, but then there wouldn't be enough to send you guys back to your world. I either send you guys back to your world, or reassert ourselves back on this world."

"So our choices are to either stay stuck in this world or leave you stuck wherever you are," Lillymon repeated more than asked, sheepishly looking at her partner only to see her just as lost. He snorted, "I'm not giving you guys a choice in the matter. WarGreymon and I will just stay out here. That way, you guys will get a ride back to your world. There should be a street care nearby you can use. It's already been reformatted for a one way trip back to the Real World. I'm sorry, I can't give you more time but reasserting the Digital World like this will permanently seal the barrier between worlds."

"So, we'll never see each other again?" Sora and Garudamon asked. Tamer's expression remained apologetic but soured when Kari asked again, "But you should still be able to come back, right? You and WarGreymon."

"Bad idea. If WarGreymon and I did that, it'd damage the barrier and there isn't enough energy left to repair any additional damage," Tamer replied quietly, "There's no way to get us back."

TK jumped in with his own suggestion to try and convince them to stay, "MagnaAngemon could open the gate and-"

"TK, that gate is meant to pull things in, not let them out," Tamer replied quickly, "Even if the gate were reversed, there wouldn't be enough energy to fix the damage to the barrier from opening it. We're stuck, but that doesn't mean you guys have to be. You guys will be able to go home, but that's where the problems will come with the barrier. You won't be able to cross it again. This will be the last time for either of you to interact. You can choose to stay, but you'll never be able to go back to your own world. You can go back, but you'll never be able to see your digimon again. You can bring the digimon, but they'll never be able to come back to the Digital World. And I'm sorry, but the clock's ticking - this is your final chance to say your good byes before the barrier seals itself forever."

"But what about you guys?" Kari swallowed hard to fight her dry throat, but it did nothing against the tears welling up in her eyes, "You just came back and now you're saying good bye again!?"

This time, he crouched down to sit eye level with her, smiling as stupidly as he did the day they'd met. He moved his hand off her head and onto her shoulders, "I'm sorry Kari. That's the way it'll have to be. Don't worry about us though, we'll just go back to doing what we do best. The last of the Ancients and his best friend. WarGreymon and I are used to being on our own. We were for over a hundred thousand years. What's another hundred thousand? Besides, you'll be okay - you and the digimon. You guys just saved reality from an eldritch abomination born outside existence. After that, I'm sure anything is possible for you guys."

He looked down at his own shoes, suddenly finding them more fascinating than his own sister. When he looked back up at her, his eyes were closed but he was smiling as warmly as she remembered, "Time's almost up. You guys go out there and live your lives. Have fun and be whatever you want because nothing can stop you, not after what you guys just went up against. Good bye, guys."

He vanished, leaving nothing behind but his final words to them and Kari burst out into tears, heartbroken that her brother was gone again. Angewomon comforted the girl in her arms, allowing her to let out all her sadness. Sora looked up at Garudamon, knowing that this time was all they had with each other. She didn't want to leave Biyomon behind though. She wanted to bring her friend back with her - but would Biyomon be able to be in the Real World?

* * *

The digidestined and their digimon split up so that they could spend time alone with each other; each digimon regressed to their rookie form since they felt more at ease that way around their partners. Angewomon was the only one not to change back, as she was busy trying to calm her partner down. Sora and Biyomon sat quietly under a nearby tree close to the street car, neither saying a word to the other until Biyomon began, "Hey Sora, are you going to forget me when you leave?"

"No, of course not," Sora replied, "I'd just be hurting myself if I did. I'll miss you when I go back, but I'm not going to forget you. I'll remember all of it, everything we did together, the digimon and people we saved, the bad guys we beat - every last thing. Because that's how much you mean to me."

Sora paused when she realized there were tears coming from her eyes but they stopped when Biyomon threw herself into a hug, "Oh Sora! Don't cry!"

"But I will! Because I can't see you again and I don't want to go!" Sora whimpered, hugging her partner back. Biyomon peeked up at her and replied, "I don't want you to go either Sora!"

* * *

Gomamon and Joe retreated to the lake shoreline to say whatever they had to each other. To Gomamon's surprise, Joe was straight forward, "So...this is the last time we'll see each other, huh Gomamon?"

"I guess so," Gomamon stared down into the water quietly, "I'd say you've grown up Joe, but I guess you were always pretty grown up."

"I get that a lot," Joe mumbled, adjusting his glasses, "I'm used to it."

"It's just, you were sort of a stick in the mud when we first met, but the more time we spent together, the more it made sense. You said so yourself - someone has to be thinking about all the things we would be going up against," Gomamon said to his partner's chagrin, "Gee thanks. Your last words to me and I think you insulted me."

"Oh come on, Joe. You know what I mean," Gomamon pleaded only for Joe to run his hand through the little seal's red hair, "Yeah, I'm just giving you a hard time. But that's what I like about you - you're the sun to my rain cloud."

"Wow, that was kinda poetic," Gomamon nodded, only to yelp when Joe picked him up for a hug, "Yep."

* * *

Izzy and Tentomon went inside the street car to say their good byes, but also to wait patiently for the others. The exchange between them was brief but comical. Tentomon opened first with a quip, "Izzy, you're not going to open up your laptop again to avoid the fact that we have to say bye, are you?"

Izzy made a point of shutting the door behind them before replying, "Of course not Tentomon. I just want you to know that I love you."

"Wait, what? Shouldn't you be saying that to Mimi?" Tentomon stumbled, only to be saved when Izzy caught him, "No, not like that! I mean - I care about you a lot and I'm glad we got to meet each other."

"Wow. I have to admit, the last time you were this emotional - you were pummeling Piedmon for turning Mimi into a keychain," Tentomon said, "So I'm a little surprised. You're usually really reserved."

"I guess I learned it's okay to be a little more emotional," Izzy smiled, hugging his partner as hard as he could and throwing the bug into a sad wail, "Oh! I'll miss you, Izzy!"

* * *

TK and Patamon retreated away to the edge of the forest to be by themselves, although TK mostly didn't want the others to see him crying. The whole time, he didn't once let go of his partner and seeing the boy wail made Patamon cry. Seeing the tears from his partner, TK replied, "Please don't cry Patamon!"

"How can't I when you're crying?" Patamon asked back through the tears, making TK realize that he'd need to calm down so that he wouldn't make his partner cry. The little boy took a few deep breaths to calm himself before managing to stutter, "Okay, I won't cry if you won't."

"Okay," Patamon said quietly, "But I'll still miss you when you're gone."

"I'll miss you too buddy," TK said, going on to recall, "This is just like my parents all over again when they split up. I thought I'd never see Matt again. But then we went to camp and we saw each other again. So who knows? Maybe we'll see each other again some day!"

"You think so?" Patamon asked hopefully. TK nodded, "I know so."

"Then instead of being sad about saying good bye now, let's look forward to when we do see each other again. Promise?" the little creature climbed up onto TK. TK agreed and hugged his partner harder, "Promise!"

* * *

Matt and Gabumon stood at the border of the forest, both quietly commenting on TK. Matt watched his brother and Patamon hugging proudly while saying, "He's really growing up."

"You are too Matt," Gabumon said. Matt looked away for a moment, uncertain and filled with doubt. He didn't believe he had really grown up, and Gabumon noted his silence. He put on his best smile and added, "You really have! You would never have left TK alone before and now? You let TK and Patamon join in on the fight against Myotismon! Not to mention the Dark Masters! You're letting him grow up and find his own way, and that's the most grown up thing you can do. Let go."

Matt continued his silence a little longer before he nodded, "Thanks Gabumon. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Could you thank me by playing your harmonica? I really like listening to your music," Gabumon replied proudly. Matt smiled and retrieved his harmonica. Rather than play his typical morose tune, the notes he played produced a more harmonious melody - one more suited to a farewell between two good friends and the memories they shared together.

* * *

Kari was still being cradled in Angewomon's arms as she cried over her losing her brother again. It took some time and was quite difficult to calm her down; Angewomon could only stroke the poor girl's hair and assure her it would be okay. When Kari finally stopped crying long enough to catch her breath, she wiped her eyes and said, "I'm sorry Angewomon. I know I should be using this time to say good bye. I just...I wish Tai didn't have to go again after he just came back."

Angewomon stroked the girl's hair a few times before replying, "It's okay Kari. I understand how you feel. Can I say something about it though? If I know Tamer the way I did back when I...I served Myotismon. then you'll see him and WarGreymon again. Those two have a bad habit of showing up when you least expect it. Not to mention how many secrets they keep."

Kari sniffled and wiped her nose while her partner went on, "Believe me. They said you'll never see us again but I bet you that we will. And that means you'll see them again too. It might be a while but they will come back. Eventually."

"Thank you," Kari's expression brightened up but her eyes were still glazed over. Angewomon nodded and the little girl hugged her partner, "Angewomon. I wish I didn't have to leave."

"I wish we could stay together a little longer too," the angel replied, still holding the girl.

* * *

Mimi and Palmon strolled along the lake shore, occasionally looking down at their reflection is the still waters but also taking in the lush green scenery around them. Mimi sighed, "I never thought I'd see the day I wished I didn't have to leave this place."

"Mimi, will you be okay?" Palmon asked out of concern for her partner's emotional well being. It was no secret to Palmon that she'd left the Real World partly to escape having to deal with her mother's own death. She didn't feel comfortable letting her partner go back if she still wasn't ready to handle it. Mimi looked down at her partner and Palmon offered her hand as a measure of comfort, "Mimi, you don't have to go back alone you know. I can come back with you if you need me to."

"I...I want you to come back with me Palmon," Mimi said quietly, "But not because I can't deal with my mom being dead. I…I think I'm ready to handle it when we go back. I want you to come back with me because I'll miss you if you don't come."

"Oh Mimi," Palmon raised up her vine like fingers to brush her partner's face. Knowing that her partner would be able to deal with her mother's death meant that she would be able to handle her absence. It pained Palmon to say it, but she did so anyway, "I'll miss you too and I want to help you whenever I can. But I don't belong in your world and there's plenty of things here that need doing. I want to help you if you need me to, but I'm needed here if you don't."

"But I-"

"Mimi. You'll do great! Besides, I know a boy who'll be more than happy to be there for you if you need a hand," Palmon winked at her. Mimi shivered, "Can we please drop that joke already?"

Palmon snickered, "At least one more time, Mimi. Oh, I'll miss you!"

Palmon wrapped her vines around her partner to hug her, a gesture Mimi returned with a hug of her own.

* * *

Once everyone had a chance to say their good byes, the digidestined boarded the street car. As soon as the doors shut, the engine roared to life and it started moving along the surface of the water. Although no tracks guided it, it somehow made its way to a bright light at the far end of the lake, reminiscent of the gate used by Tamer's people. The digidestined took one last look at the Digital World and saw their partners running along side as fast as they could to wave them good bye. Without a second thought, Sora lowered one of the windows to wave back and they could hear their digimon shouting their farewells.

The others followed her lead and lowered the other windows to shout their good byes one more time. At the last moment before they entered into the gate, Mimi threw her pink cowboy hat out the window and into her partner's hands. As they disappeared, they witnessed Palmon throwing the hat over her head and shouting one last goodbye to her partner.

* * *

Tamer sighed once he'd finished talking and checked his digivice to make sure the barrier was sealed to the Digital World. WarGreymon cocked his head to the side, "Why'd you lie to them like that Tamer? There's more than enough energy for us to go back!"

"Because there's still a lot of work that we have to take care of," Tamer dusted his hands and pocketed his digivice, "A lot of worlds out there are still reeling from the damage to reality. We won for now but you know that the job is far from done. Why ruin the mood for them and give them something to worry about when there's nothing they can do about it? Well, nothing most of them can do about it. Myotismon is still out there, not to mention all the other baddies that need to be taken care of - the Demon Lords, the traitor, the ancient terrors, things from beyond time and space."

WarGreymon grew concerned and felt he had to remind his partner, "Tamer, we barely survived fighting the Dark Masters, Myotismon, or Apocalymon on our own. We need them! You know that!"

"I'm not saying we don't," Tamer raised his hood over his head, "Because we do. But we need to get things ready first. Destiny needs to stay on track - remember? So let's get started."

Tamer stretched and motioned for WarGreymon to follow. WarGreymon sighed but knew his partner well enough to trust him. He may not have always known what he was doing, but he would stick with him no matter what. He hurried after his partner, "Alright, where we off to?"

"Who knows?" Tamer replied quietly, while he fiddled with his digivice, "There's a lot of places for us to go. As long as it's fun, I don't really care. Oh! I know! How about here. No wait! Here! Digiport OPEN!"

He used his digivice to open a portal in front of them, excitedly leading the way forward. WarGreymon stretched and yawned, "Okay. Let's get back at it partner!"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** And so we've come to the end of Part I of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure. I'll be taking a brief break from updates to rebuild my chapter backlog, as well as attend to some of my normal life affairs. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I make a point of replying as soon as the website will allow me. And hey, why not follow and favorite me to get all the latest updates on the next installment of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure. And hey, come back on Friday, March 3rd 5 PM CST for the first installment of The Life of Kari Kamiya. The working title for that project is 'War Time'. Additionally, come back on Friday, March 31st 5 PM for Part 2 of the story of The Tamer. Look forward to it! For now, this is Leonardo1123581321 signing out!

* * *

In a dark one bedroom apartment complex, a lone adult sits quietly in the living room observing a video playing on a laptop. The adult sighs and looks up from the screen briefly to review a stack of papers sitting on the coffee table before them. After skimming the first few pages, the adult sighs, "Okay. We're on schedule. On to phase two."

"Babe, it's midnight. Let's go to bed," says another adult from the bedroom. The adult looked up at the other, "You go ahead hon'. I'll be in soon. I just want to get some work done."

"Okay, but not too long," the second adult said before disappearing into the bedroom. The first adult sighed and went to work on their laptop.


End file.
